Being Awake is the REAL Nightmare
by Reyelene
Summary: Nodoff, ruler of Dream World, is stuck in MacCawber Manor ... with an anger driven Morgana who punishes him severely. What will be the fate of the infamous trickster of Dream World? Alternate perspective of "Ghoul of my Dreams" and loosely inspired by Dante's "Inferno." Warning: contains spanking in this fic.
1. The Trickster is in Trouble

**This is my first attempt of writing a Darkwing Duck fan fiction. This one is the continuation of the episode "Ghoul of my Dreams," featuring the character Nodoff once again. I really like this villain, next to Dr. Bushroot (who is my number one favorite villain from the show), plus I was greatly disappointed that he only showed up _once_. I was disappointed in how the episode ended, and how Nodoff's punishment of the realization that he has no magical powers in the real world was too short. So, this is my alternate perspective on how the episode would end ... starting off with Nodoff's sleep sand being spilled.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: _The Trickster is in Trouble_**

The dim-witted Darkwing Duck had spilt his beautiful supply of Sleep Sand! Nodoff's fun has been ruined! But the worst hasn't happened _yet_. Nodoff froze in fear as Darkwing took a small helping of Sleep Sand and allowed the contents to pour into his gas gun. What was the duck _doing_?!

"Hey, leave that alone, you-!"

Nodoff didn't get a chance to finish. Darkwing had already shot a gust of Sleep Sand in the ghoul's direction. Panic gripped the ruler of Dream World as the smokey remains of the Sleep Sand seeped into his nostrils and into his large ears ... and stung his orange eyes. Within seconds, his energy turned from an all-time high into complete lethargy.

"I ... feel so sleepy ..."

Now this caught Darkwing's interest. He was so used to seeing the trickster hyper and in a rage, but how quickly this Nodoff's demeanor changed when the Sleep Sand took affect. It's as if the duck was seeing a different side to him.

Nodoff's body levitated just before a pink pillow appeared before him. The sleepy ghoul rested his head on the pillow and nodded off into a slumber. Six seconds later, Nodoff woke up to a bump on the head. He managed to regain some equilibrium quickly, though he was still partly drugged by the effects of the Sleep Sand.

"Hey," Nodoff uttered, unfamiliar with his surroundings. "This isn't Dream World." Before he could wonder what was happening, he felt something grab his collar. It was Morgana MacCawber ... and she was _pissed_.

"What are you doing here?!" she cried through gritted teeth. Clearly _someone_ had woken up on the wrong side of the couch. "Where's Darkwing?!"

She dragged him across the floor like a sack of potatoes as she approached the door entering Dream World. Upon, opening the door, Eek and Squeek entered the room ... and so did her beloved Darkwing. After a brief moment of kissing, both Darkwing and Morgana turned serious gazes at Nodoff. Darkwing ordered Nodoff to go home, but the ghoul insisted against it until he could find someone else to gather his Sleep Sand. He turned to run the other way, but Darkwing called upon Eek and Squeek to catch the ghoul.

"Ha! You are no match for my dream powers!" Nodoff said defiantly. "You forget I can fly!" But no sooner than he said this than the two bats released him ... and no matter how hard he flapped his arms, Nodoff continued to plummet until he hit the floor with a loud thump.

"Give it up, Nodoff!" Darkwing demanded. "There's no way out except through this door!"

But the ghoul was not willing to admit defeat. "In that case, I can disappear through this wall!" Nodoff ran into the wall ... and crashed into it, nearly knocking himself out. How embarrassing! He couldn't fly, couldn't disappear through walls, couldn't conjure up a spell ... What was he to do?!

"Ohhh," he groaned, attempting to soothe his headache with his fingers. "Being awake is a _real_ nightmare."

"Yeah, but it's over now," Darkwing added sarcastically, just before grabbing Nodoff by the ears.

"Darkwing, wait!" Morgana cried.

Darkwing stopped short in his tracks. " _Wait_?! Wait for _what_?!"

"It's not over just _yet_!" Morgana insisted. "Don't throw Nodoff back into Dream World!"

"What?! _Why_?!" Darkwing asked, unsure of where this was going.

"If we throw him back into Dream World," Morgana began, "Nodoff will just conjure up another spell to put St. Canard at risk. He's my responsibility; let _me_ be the one to punish him."

"Morgana, what are you saying?!" Darkwing replied, still holding Nodoff by the ears. The unhappy ghoul was shaking his fists and kicking the air with his feet.

"Nodoff has no powers here," Morgana pointed out. "We can use that to our advantage."

Darkwing raised an eyebrow out of concern. He wasn't sure what Morgana was up to, but he wasn't sure that he liked the sound of it. Sure, both he and Morgana seriously disliked the ghoul, but ... Morgana would never go as far as to stoop down to Nodoff's level ... _would_ she ...?

"Morgana ... _what_ are you going to _do_ to him?"

Morgana heaved a flustered sigh before responding. " _Look_ , Dark. _You're_ in charge of making sure St. Canard stays safe, _right_?"

Darkwing nodded.

"And you know Dream World is _Nodoff's_ domain to do whatever he pleases, _right_?"

Again, Darkwing nodded.

"Well, if we throw Nodoff back in Dream World too soon, he'll just find a way to conjure up some other scheme to put St. Canard at risk again if he pleases. As I said, he is vulnerable here. We can use this knowledge to make sure Nodoff never harms or deceives anyone ever again." Morgana noticed the skeptical look in Darkwing's eyes, so she rested her hand on his shoulder. "I know this doesn't make sense to you Dark, but ... you have to _trust_ me on this."

Darkwing said not a word but released Nodoff from his grip, causing the ghoul to fall on his bum. Afterward, Morgana grabbed Nodoff by the collar once again while giving Darkwing a goodnight kiss before sending him on his way. The duck insisted that Morgana call him in case there was any sign of trouble; Morgana agreed.

Darkwing had left. Now Morgana was alone with Nodoff. She dragged the ghoul straight to the couch, she sat down first just before raising Nodoff to her eye level. "And as for _you_ , you little creep," Morgana seethed through her teeth. "You're stuck with _me_ , now!"


	2. A Punishment that Doesn'ts SIT Well

**Ooooo ... *starts singing to herself*** ** _"Nodoff's gonna get it! Nodoff's gonna get it!"_** **Morgana has locked the door to Dream World, so Nodoff can't escape. Morgana may have been indecisive in the past about choosing between sides of good and bad ... but if there is anything that both Morgana and Darkwing have in common is that neither one of them like to be lied to. And Morgana is super angry at Nodoff for lying to her, so she decides to teach him a lesson ... by taking him over her knee. This chapter contains spanking in it.**

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 **Chapter 2: _A Punishment that Doesn't SIT Well_**

Nodoff's large ears drooped heavily as he gazed into Morgana's eyes, which were now red with anger. The ghoul did remember Morgana telling that meddlesome Darkwing that _she_ was going to be the one to _punish him_. If he had been in his own Dream World, Nodoff would've laughed it off, but now ... now that he was looking into the witch's angry eyes, he felt his own body grow cold with fear. _How_ was Morgana going to punish him?

"I _specifically_ told you not to lay a finger on Darkwing!" Morgana yelled, loud enough to cause Nodoff to flinch out of reflex. "Did you _not_ remember me telling you this?!"

Nodoff was beginning to tremble so badly, he thought that his own body was turning to jelly. The ghoul was _not_ liking this at all! He wanted to get out of there! He wanted to go _home_!

" _ANSWER_ ME, NODOFF!" Morgana re-iterated.

"Y-yes ... y-you did," Nodoff managed to say, his voice as small as a mouse.

"Then _why_ did you _do_ it?!" Morgana demanded.

"I don't know!" Nodoff reacted in his defense. If _this_ was the supposed to be the punishment Morgana was talking about, it was already scaring him enough. He assumed if he just told her the first thing that popped into his head that it would be the _end_ of it. Unfortunately, this answer was _not_ good enough. Morgana tilted her head back and laughed.

" _This_ is the answer the _Ruler of Dream World_ gives me?" Morgana replied, letting out a chuckle that had anger mixed into it. "I think you _do_ know. So _answer_ me, Nodoff!"

Nodoff began to hyperventilate. How could he answer if he couldn't speak?! The ghoul's breaths came in short gulps. He circled his left hand like a crank in the make-belief that it would correspond with his lips. Nodoff _assumed_ that Morgana could see the obvious that he was unable to speak if she didn't handle him gently. But Morgana was _not_ going to be easy on him.

"I know _why_ you can't answer, Nodoff," Morgana continued, giving him a suspicious look. "You can't answer because _that_ was _your intention_ all along ... _wasn't_ it?"

Nodoff's orange eyes widened as if Death were staring him in the face. Did she ... _overhear_ him mutter that he _never keeps his word_? His hyperventilation worsened.

"You're a _lying_ , _conniving_ , _vicious_ little _monster_!" Morgana insulted the now hapless Nodoff. His current fearful state now made him more vulnerable to insults, and Nodoff's orange eyes looked almost watery. "And in _this_ world, _liars_ get _punished_."

Before he could stop anything, Nodoff felt something watery within his eyes, trickling down his cheeks. _Were_ ... _these_ ... _tears_? Yes, they were tears, and they trickled down his face like blood would after a finger prick. What had this witch _done_ to him?! Before he could have time to dwell on it, Morgana had already turned the ghoul over and placed him on her lap like a folded up towel.

"There's only _one_ just punishment for this situation," Morgana replied. "A _good spanking_."

" _What_?!" Nodoff cried out; he _finally_ found his tongue again. But before he could say anything else, a firm, heavy hand swatted his backside ... and it started to _hurt_. "Ow, ow, ow!" the ghoul cried out as his sitting spot was getting smacked. There was a reason Morgana had insulted Nodoff and yelled at him. It wasn't just out of anger, even though she truly was angry with him. It was because she had to intensify Nodoff's fear of her. As the ghoul used his victim's fears to make them more vulnerable, so did Morgana use Nodoff's fear of being powerless to make him more sensitive. That way, the spanking that she would administer on him would produce more of a sting in case her swats weren't strong enough. Morgana repeated this swatting motion again ... and again ... and again ... Nodoff began to curse vehemently, calling Morgana a stupid witch and using his left hand to block her swats ... which caused Morgana to grab his wrist out reflex with her opposite hand and pin it behind his back.

"That's only going make this _harder_ , Nodoff," Morgana uttered sarcastically and she continued to spank Nodoff on his trouser covered bottom.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Nodoff cried out, the pain was starting to become unbearable. " _STOP_ IT! IT _HURTS_!"

" _That_ is the _point_ , Nodoff," Morgana told him, once again in a sarcastic tone. She couldn't help but chuckle inwardly and she continued to give Nodoff's trouser covered bottom a _serious beating_. She had _barely_ started the punishment, and _already_ Nodoff was complaining about the pain?! She decided to take this to the next level. She pulled down his trousers, revealing black boxers. Once again, Morgana repeated her swats, this time putting more force to it.

Poor Nodoff's orange eyeballs popped out as his boxer covered bottom was getting smacked. He thought the pain couldn't get any worse, but Morgana's smacks were so hard that the sting intensified. The ghoul's tears, which were merely trickles of water _before_ the punishment, had now become waterfalls, soaking his face and making a messy puddle on the wooden floor. The tears were wet and sticky ... sticky on his face bothered him. Since Morgana had pinned down his left hand (which happened to be his _weaker_ hand), he had only his other hand for motion. But he couldn't decide if he should use it to mop his now tear-stained face or make another attempt to block Morgana's stinging swats. In a panic, Nodoff attempted to block Morgana's swats with his free hand. But Morgana grabbed his wrist on impulse and pinned it down with her other hand.

"Hey, what did I _just_ tell you?!" Morgana raised her voice at him. "That's only going to make things a lot _harder_."

Morgana had stopped her smacking swats on Nodoff only for a moment. The ghoul attempted to wriggle himself free from Morgana's grasp, but to no avail. A long piece of rope appeared and Morgana tied both of Nodoff's wrists behind his back. Now the ghoul couldn't do anything with his hands at all. But Morgana was starting to get chest pains from the stress of it all ... she began to realize the true meaning behind the old phrase _This hurts me more than it hurts you_. But she didn't want to tell Nodoff that. He would surely use that as a weapon, the point of this punishment was to teach Nodoff that hurting people was _wrong_. But more importantly, he had to learn _why_ it was wrong.

"You want this to _stop_ , Nodoff?!" Morgana asked, giving the ghoul and option. "That all depends on you. Are you _sorry_ for what you did?"

Nodoff huffed and puffed angrily. _Sorry_ , she said?! _SORRY_?! This relentless witch just _hurt_ him! She had dared to strike the Ruler of Dream World on his sitting spot. She _dared_ to embarrass him and make sticky water come out his eyes, which was beginning to drive him mad now that he couldn't use either hand to mop it off ... He was hurting right now, and Morgana wanted _him_ to be sorry?!

"RELEASE ME AT _ONCE_ , YOU WITCH!" Nodoff screamed as he could feel his sense of pride diminishing. "TAKE ME BACK TO DREAM WORLD ... _NOW_!"

Morgana sighed heavily and shook her head. "You _didn't_ answer my question, Nodoff. Now you leave me no other choice."

That being said, Morgana began to pull the black boxers down, revealing Nodoff's bare bottom, which was already warm from the swats that were administered before. The ghoul's mouth gaped in horror as he witnessed Morgana exposing his vulnerable backside. It didn't take him long to figure out what was going to happen next.

"No, no!" Nodoff pled. " _Have mercy_ , Morgana! _Please_! Don't hurt me anymore!"

"This is what happens to liars, cheaters, and offenders to all St. Canardians, they get spankings on their bare bottoms," Morgana replied to Nodoff, he _needed_ to accept the consequences of his actions. With a renewed sense of energy, Morgana resumed the swatting motions, this time thrice as hard than the previous two.

Now Nodoff began to wail like a wounded animal; his bare bottom _burned_ with the intensity of Morgana's spanking hand. The pain was just too much, he had taken for granted that both his boxers and trousers served as shields from the intensity of the sting. But now both were gone and his bare bottom began to glow as red as fire. The puddle of tears on the floor turned into a river now. Morgana gazed in astonishment as she witnessed her wooden floor becoming water-logged in a matter of seconds. And upon looking at Nodoff's face, she was starting to feel pity for him. She had never realized that a creature of Nodoff's size could produce so much water! Not to mention she could sense that Nodoff's ego was greatly diminishing. No longer was he that overly intimidating demon who could change his shape and size. Now he just looked like a typical naughty little child who just didn't like to be punished.

"This is the most lenient punishment you will ever receive, Nodoff," Morgana told him, her voice softened a little ... but not _too_ soft. "If _this_ were the Dark Ages, you would've been sentenced to the guillotine for your misdeeds."

Nodoff's hyperventilation had took control of his own mind as his bare bottom both stung and throbbed painfully at the same time. His face was completely wet now, he _thought_ it was _melting_. This was no fun at all! He had never been so thoroughly humiliated in all his life! Morgana showed no signs of stopping, and Nodoff already exhausted himself from all the struggling to break free from Morgana's grasp. There was only one way out of this, as Morgana had said. Nodoff would have to surrender. The thought of it thoroughly disgusted him! _He_ , the monarch of Dream World, _debase_ himself to being _sorry_?! Normally, that's what he would've blurted out in spite of the odds. But Nodoff's bare bottom was so sore and so bruised that it swelled like a balloon! His face was all wet and sticky from endless tears, his magical powers were gone, and he couldn't to go home ... What was the use?! The poor, defenseless ghoul couldn't fight it anymore.

"No more ..." Nodoff uttered in a weak voice.

"What?" Morgana replied, still swatting him, but lessening the severity of her hand. "Did you say _more_?"

" _No_ more ..." Nodoff repeated, his voice small and his tone breathy from exhaustion.

" _No more_?" Morgana repeated. " _Why_?"

"I ... give up ..." Nodoff surrendered. "I'll ... never do it again ..."

"Is that a _promise_?"

"Yes ..." Nodoff uttered meekly, _begging_ that the pain would _stop_. "I will keep ... my word ... Have mercy ... please ..."

Morgana delivered a final three swats before finally coming to a complete stop. The witch panted a little, she was out of breath. But Nodoff faired far worse than her. She felt him shake so badly that he was crawling out of his skin. She could still hear him panting desperately for breath, the miserable ghoul was a pitiful sight to see. Morgana gently untied his wrists, allowing Nodoff to cover his face from view with both hands. Tears were still flowing like waterfalls and spilling on the floor, but at least his face wasn't visible. Then the ghoul felt something kneading the small of his back. Morgana was rubbing the area between Nodoff's lower back and his abused bottom with her right hand. "You wanted mercy, Nodoff?" the witch uttered in a soft voice. " _This_ is the most merciful gesture you will _ever_ receive from me."

Nodoff's body was burning up, he was sweating profusely. Morgana could feel it on his bare skin, so she commanded her two pets, Eek and Squeek, to bring a glass of water. She continued to rub Nodoff's back until his breathing returned to normal. Morgana gently pulled up both Nodoff's boxers and trousers, the poor ghoul winced as the material of both brushed against his sore sitting spot. Morgana continued to rub his back just before picking him up and turning him upright to a standing position. By now, the two bats returned with the glass of water and placed it on the table next to the couch. Morgana continued to rub Nodoff's back before she gave him a tissue from her tissue box.

"It's over," Morgana spoke softly. Nodoff sniveled miserably as he accepted the tissue, mopping his tear-stain face. Morgana studied his expression carefully, it looked like Nodoff's mind had been completely undone by the whole ordeal. His whole facial expression appeared comatose. Was the Ruler of Dream World _that_ weak? Morgana was too used to

seeing Nodoff's magical powers in action, she had never seen the vulnerable side of him before.

"Drink some water, you're burning up." Morgana picked up the glass of what and gave it to Nodoff. She gently motioned the ghoul to drink it, he drank the water but in such a stupid manner that it dribbled down his chin. Morgana rolled her eyes back, she had to hold his arm steady with both hands so that he wouldn't spill any more. She made sure he drank all of it, his body needed to cool down. After the last drop's liquid disappeared, Morgana slowly pried the glass from Nodoff's hand and placed it back on the table. She rubbed the ghoul's left shoulder before speaking to him again.

"Can you hear me?" Morgana asked. "Nod your head if you can."

 _Stupidly_ , but _surely_ , Nodoff nodded his head.

"You need to take a bath," Morgana told him. "You _stink_."

Morgana rose from the couch and took Nodoff by the wrist, tugging at him to follow. Nodoff mindlessly walked behind, his comatose expression disappeared as he winced with each step. Somehow he got the feeling that sitting down was going to be a problem.


	3. Homesickness

**Here, we begin to see Nodoff express frustration for not being able to use magic at all, not to mention how much he hates being yelled at. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: _Homesickness_**

Nodoff was taken upstairs to the bathroom. At times, Morgana had to _drag_ him forward; he occasionally stopped to stare blankly at old paintings that appeared to be portraits of her ancestors. It wasn't as if Nodoff was really that curious, he just wanted something pleasant to look at to make him forget his present situation.

Morgana would not have any of it. For too long, this creature's mischief had enslaved many ghouls, goblins, and witches in the past, Morgana included. And _he_ was the reason Morgana was in debt with student loans! She didn't remember what went through her head when she told Darkwing that "being bad is too rewarding." It seemed like more work than it was worth, and Morgana could feel it taking a toll on her health. Yes, Morgana wasn't clearly as healthy as she looked. She had been having bad chest pains, her body ached everywhere, and any time she wanted to do something she liked or enjoyed, she was either too tired or too busy. All her physical energy had been spent on going in circles trying to please her teachers, thinking that the work load was done when it would continue to pile up quickly than anyone could imagine to keep up with. It was no wonder Morgana spent too much time in her mansion and sat on the couch all day.

Morgana turned on the bath water. She tested the water to make sure it was warm enough, but not too hot. She was still angry with Nodoff, if she weren't so disciplined, she probably would've made the water scalding hot and throw the ghoul in there until he boiled alive. She glanced back at Nodoff, who quickly turned his gaze away and hid his face under his right arm, trembling. It was as if her look was hurting him.

"Well, why are you just standing there?!" Morgana replied impatiently. "Get in the bath tub!"

Nodoff's large ears drooped as he struggled to remove his vest and his clothes. The ghoul was completely nude, but he crossed his arms in front of him to cover himself. He was starting to feel so exposed, and he didn't like it.

"Do I have to _beat_ you _again_?!" Morgana threatened with her previous spanking hand. Nodoff flinched and wasted no time in climbing into the bath tub ... and landing with a _splash_. The bath water was only _mildly_ hot, but because Nodoff wasn't used to the feel of water on his skin, he seethed through his teeth in pain. The water was also touched with lavender, Nodoff could smell it. He wasn't used to this smell, it was beginning to drive him crazy.

"Go and scrub yourself!" Morgana demanded, pointing to a scrubbing brush and soap. "I will find some clothes you can wear in the meantime."

Morgana closed and locked the bathroom door behind her, but not before making sure that there was nothing in the room that Nodoff could use as a means of escaping. Luckily, that bathroom only had one small window at the opposite corner of where the bathtub stood. Since he no longer had the power of flight, Nodoff couldn't possibly escape from that window if he tried. And there were no ropes nor were there any rope substitutes for him to use. She had him trapped now.

Nodoff sniveled as he clumsily applied the bristles of the scrubbing brush against the bar of soap. He attempted to apply the brush against his back to scrub it but he didn't keep a firm enough grip on it, thus the brush dropped on the floor of the tub. He picked the brush to try again but stupidly let it slip onto the bathroom floor. Then he grabbed the bar of soap but squeezed so hard out of sheer frustration that it too slipped from his hand and flew across the room out of arms reach. The ghoul was getting so angry that he pounded both fists in the water, which caused such a splash that it spilt on the floor. Normally, when Nodoff would get angry in Dream World, he would always depend on angry magic spells to vent out his frustration ... or he would play pretend by changing his shape. Nodoff began to purposely splash the water, in hopes that magic would come out of his finger tips to make his frustration go away. But it wasn't working. This so called Real World would not let him.

"What is going on here?!" Morgana cried as she had entered the bathroom and saw to her shock that her bathroom floor was now all wet. Nodoff just turned away and covered his face, hoping he could just disappear.

" _You_ made this mess, _didn't_ you?!" Morgana uttered in a serious tone that made Nodoff quiver fearfully as he peeked through his fingers to see the witch's angry face. The ghoul did not answer, but could feel the water return to his orange eyes once again.

" _ANSWER_ ME, NODOFF!"

"I-i-i-it slipped, your beautifulness," Nodoff uttered in that weak, mouse-like tone once again. "It slipped from my hand."

Morgana approached the bathtub in a stomping march and grabbed Nodoff by the ear. "Don't you lie to me, Nodoff!" she screamed as she yanked the ghoul's ear so hard that he was afraid she would rip it off.

"I'm not!" Nodoff cried, struggling to break free from Morgana's grasp.

"Yes you are!"

Nodoff pointed to the scrubbing brush and soap. "It _did_ slip, your beautifulness! _Look_!"

"And don't call me your _beautifulness_!" Morgana retorted. "I am _not_ your slave, you have _no_ right to call me that! Only _Darkwing_ is allowed to call me that!"

"I was just trying to be _polite_!" Nodoff cried, greatly disliking that _he_ was being _yelled_ at.

"You _still_ did not answer my question, Nodoff," Morgana spoke through gritted teeth. While she held onto the ghoul's ear with one hand, she began to swat his bare bottom again with her previous spanking hand. " _Did you make this mess_?!"

" _YES_!" Nodoff cried, inwardly begging that Morgana stop smacking his backside, it already was hurting enough. "YES, I _MADE_ THIS MESS! I DIDN'T _MEAN_ TO!"

Morgana stopped swatting him and released her grip on his ear, allowing Nodoff to fall back into the bath water. "There, _see_?" the witch replied. "If you had answered truthfully to my question, _that_ wouldn't have happened ... _would_ it?"

Nodoff said nothing but buried his face in his arms and knees as he began to sob uncontrollably. Morgana's anger began to soften once again as she witnessed the unhappy ghoul sob like a child. Nodoff was completely incapable of dealing with reality, Morgana could clearly see that. The ghoul was too used to his own Dream World where the only limits were his vivid imagination. It was strange but as verbose as Nodoff was when Morgana bargained for Sleep Sand, she wouldn't imagined such extensive vocabulary as a trait of someone who was very confident at presenting himself to the public. But now that she looked at the little demon of Dream World, that verbose character quality seemed to have disappeared like another magic spell. Now Nodoff seemed to have a vocabulary no greater than an eight year old ... and it was _pitiful_.

Morgana gazed at the scrubbing brush and soap that lay on the bathroom floor. She picked both items up before re-approaching the bathtub again. Morgana gently applied the scrubbing brush against Nodoff's back. She should've known better that this creature had never used a scrubbing brush or soap before. In fact, it wouldn't have been surprising if this ghoul never bathed once in his whole life. There were magical spells for practically _everything,_ one could get rid of body odor with a snap of his fingers.

Nodoff still continued to sob, but the bristles of the scrubbing brush produced such a tingle upon his skin that made him relax. The witch made circular motions with the brush just before applying it to the back of his neck, then under his arms. Then Morgana took a small dab of lavender scented shampoo and applied it to Nodoff's blue hair. She pressed firmly with her finger tips as she massaged and washed the ghoul's hair, then scooped up bath water with an empty bowl to pour on top of Nodoff's head. Morgana wasn't sure what Nodoff thought of this bathing experience, though she imagined that it secretly irritated him, especially the fact that he couldn't do it _himself_.

After she had finished bathing him, Morgana pulled the drain plug off then motioned Nodoff climb out so she could dry him with a towel. Luckily, she was able to dry him without the ghoul making a fuss. Afterward, she half dried the bathroom floor, just so that neither one of them would slip. Then Morgana handed him a gray pajama shirt and pants for him to wear. She thought she would've had to conjure up magic to make something appear for Nodoff, since he was very small. Luckily, she had looked through old clothes and found an outfit that was just the ghoul's size ... and it was clean.

"Your bedroom is ready," Morgana assured Nodoff. "Eek and Squeek will guide you there."

As soon as she mentioned their names, Eek and Squeek appeared before Nodoff and beckoned him to follow them. The ghoul sighed as he complied. What else could he do? Morgana sighed with relief, since this gave her an opportunity to dry the rest of the floor. She still had not dried the puddle of tears in the living room yet, where she had spanked Nodoff. Her focus right now was to make sure the ghoul wouldn't cause any more damage. But so far, it seemed as if the only damage that Nodoff was causing was to himself.

Nodoff was lead to an upstairs attic, which was fairly neat and organized. The walls were painted a dark blue, and there was a scent similar to the lavender that Morgana made him bathe in that encircled the room. Or, was he smelling the lavender that was on _him_? He couldn't tell at this point.

The two bats flew in the direction of the bed, enticing the ghoul to come in and rest. There was a thick bedspread of star and crescent moon-shaped patterns, which looked so inviting right now. Nodoff could feel fatigue overwhelm him as he slowly crept up to the bed and hid under the covers. He attempted to lie on his back, but winced and quickly turn to his side. Oh yes, he _forgot_. His backside was still sore, and sleeping on it would be painful. Not to mention Morgana just swatted him a few minutes ago in the bathtub. But somehow, that pain now was more of a dull discomfort. He crawled up to the pillow and rest his head on it. Next to the pillow was a teddy bear, a bit worn from age, but had a friendly looking face. Across from his head, Nodoff spotted a small hour glass with sparkling sand in it. His Sleep Sand, he thought. Soon, his eyes became watery again.

Nodoff's thoughts were disturbed when he heard the sound of the floorboard door. It was Morgana, she had ascended the stairs to check up on the ghoul.

" _This_ will be your room," Morgana told Nodoff, making sure that he was listening to her. "Get comfortable with it and get some rest. Tomorrow, you'll be put to work. And I _don't_ want to hear any excuses!"

"Y-yes, your beautifulness," Nodoff uttered in that mousy tone again.

" _What_ did I _just_ tell you, Nodoff?!" Morgana replied in a more serious tone.

"Um ..." Nodoff uttered, his large ears drooping, "eheheh, to _not_ call you that?"

" _Correct_!" Morgana replied in a harsh tone. " _I_ do not owe you anything, Nodoff, and neither does Darkwing! Until your work is done here, you will address me as either Miss MacCawber, Miss, or Madam!"

Nodoff turned his head. Tears began to trickle down his face, and he didn't want Morgana to see it. "Y-y-yes, _Miss_." Addressing the witch as _Miss MacCawber_ made him uncomfortable because technically Nodoff was much older than her (his age was no one else's business). _Madam_ sounded too old for someone like Morgana, so Nodoff chose _Miss_ as the safest way to address her.

"And _stop crying_!" Morgana ordered, she could tell that Nodoff was crying by the sound of his voice. "You _cannot_ con _me_ with _crying_!"

Morgana left the room, Eek and Squeek followed behind her. The door was closed and Nodoff was left alone, his thoughts his only company now ... next to the teddy bear, that is.

Unfortunately, Nodoff could not obey her order to _stop crying_. The tears began to flow like water falls again and Nodoff didn't know how to make them stop. He buried his face in the pillow as he yearned to be in his own Dream World again. He grabbed the friendly looking teddy bear and held tightly to it as his only means of comfort. This was _not_ a bedroom, the poor ghoul thought. This was a _prison_. The hour-glass of sparkling sand taunted him as he was reminded of the Sleep Sand that Darkwing had spilt just before Nodoff wound up in this world. Where was his home? When will the door re-open again? Who's going to look after Dream World if he is not around?

Nodoff sobbed in his pillow until the scent of lavender from his body lulled him to sleep.


	4. Time for the Nightmares to Begin!

**As Morgana promises in the last chapter, she puts Nodoff to work ... starting with a** ** _huge_** **pile of her dirty laundry. Meanwhile, Nodoff gets distracted by _other_ things. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: _Time for the Nightmares to Begin!_**

Morgana woke up early in the morning and had just finished brewing herself a cup of coffee. Cooking was never one of her strengths, she couldn't even fry eggs right without blowing up something. But she was good at brewing coffee. After a few sips of her coffee and feeling somewhat refreshed, she gave Darkwing Duck a quick phone call. He had asked her to meet him in front of the Hungry Hippo restaurant to discuss some important matters ... and most of which were a follow up concerning Nodoff's situation. They were to meet at 7:45am. It was now 6:15am. _Good_ , she thought. That gave her plenty of time to deal with Nodoff before she would have to leave him alone. Of course, she wasn't going to leave him completely alone. She would have Eek, Squeek, and Archie keep an eye on him in case he were to revert back to his old habits and try escaping or pulling some stunts. And if Nodoff did revert to his old habits once again, then Morgana would obviously have to spank him again, going straight for the bare bottom this time. But the last ordeal had really tired her out, hopefully she wouldn't have to resort to that again ... If Nodoff knew what was good for him, he would comply. He didn't have a choice, otherwise he would never be allowed to go back to Dream World again.

Oh, and speak of the Devil! Morgana spotted Nodoff coming down the stairs, still in his pajamas. Morgana noticed that the ghoul wiped his orange eyes with the back of his arm and heard a little sniffle coming from him. He must've cried himself to sleep. It wouldn't have surprised the witch, taking into consideration the ordeal that she had put Nodoff through. But the ghoul had better get over it somehow, because Morgana had a job for him to do.

"I hope you've rested well, Nodoff," Morgana began. "Come with me."

Nodoff said not a word, but followed the witch to another room. They had walked into the kitchen, there was a door on the left side. Morgana opened it, inside was the laundry room. Upon entering it, the ghoul's orange eyes widened and his jaw dropped to the floor. There were three baskets full of dirty laundry piled almost to the ceiling. Were _these_ all of Morgana's clothes?!

"I have some errands to run," Morgana told Nodoff. "Your job is to make sure all these clothes are washed and dried _before_ I get home by lunch hour. The detergent is in that white jug on top of the washing machine."

Nodoff suddenly found his tongue again. "I ... have to do all _this_?!"

"Correct!" Morgana reacted sharply. "And I _expect_ this to be done! This shouldn't be hard, Nodoff!"

An after-thought dawned on Morgana shortly after she had said this. What if Nodoff does _not_ know how to use the washing machine? After all, if he had trouble using a scrubbing brush last night, what made her think he wouldn't blow up the washing machine if he used it incorrectly? And if that were to happen, she would have to buy another one, which costed money, and would only add onto her debt of student loans. Morgana could _not_ afford for that to happen.

" _But_ , in case you do run into any trouble," the witch added, quickly grabbing the manual for the wash machine, which sat in between it and the drier, "you can refer to this for instructions." Morgana dropped the manual in Nodoff's hand. If there's one thing that Morgana had no doubts over is that Nodoff _was_ able to _read_. "Oh, and in case you get hungry, there's food in the refrigerator behind you." Morgana pointed to the refrigerator; Nodoff's eyes followed the motion of her hand. "In fact ... I highly recommend that you eat _something_ before you start _anything_."

Nodoff turned his head in a puppet-like manner to look at Morgana. Why would _he_ , the ruler of Dream World, be interested in food?! He was a creature of phenomenal powers, he didn't need food! Not to mention that he found Morgana's gesture of handing him the manual for the washing machine _insulting_. In fact, Nodoff found this whole thing about keeping him trapped here insulting! And if this witch thought that he had forgotten the fact that she dragged him on the floor, imprisoned him here in this Manor, and dared to treat him like a child, she was _wrong_!

"I'm have to go, Nodoff," Morgana repeated. "Those clothes had better be done by the time I return!"

After the door had closed, Nodoff fell on the floor in a sitting position and crossed his arms. He would've taken this opportunity to sulk, but Eek and Squeek soon encircled his head, catching him off guard. The ghoul swatted his hands in the direction of the annoying bats to shoo them away. Why wouldn't they just let him _sulk_?! Then Eek took a shirt from one of the dirty piles and placed it on his lap. Nodoff picked it up to inspect it ... then he was slapped in the face by the stench of the dirty shirt that he covered his face with his shirt. How long have these damn shirts been sitting there?! Still keeping his face covered, Nodoff gazed back at the washing machine. He raised an eyebrow curiously. "This doesn't look hard," Nodoff uttered in a muffled voice. He rose to his feet, dragging the dirty shirt with him. He opened the washing machine door to begin, and slowly backed away to gaze at the contraption in amazement. But in all his awe and wonder, Nodoff didn't pay attention to his own movements and bumped into the pile of dirty clothes, causing it all to crash on top of him. Both Eek and Squeek flew to the fallen pile with worry, until a greenish-blue hand emerged from the pile. A face followed suit and Nodoff drummed his fingers on the floor in a cloud of disapproval. He would've allowed himself to sit there and ponder on what to do next, but the stench of dirty laundry began to make him feel woozy. He had to get out of there! Nodoff re-covered his face with his shirt and attempted to crawl out, though more pieces of dirty laundry dropped on him with every move he made. The ghoul's face began to turn red with fury and smoke steamed out from both ears. Nodoff grabbed a handful of shirts and attempted to rip them apart, but Eek and Squeek encircled his face once again, their way of warning him to stop.

"Leave me alone!" Nodoff cried, shooing away the bats with his hands once again. In his attempt to chase Eek and Squeek away, Nodoff finally freed himself from the bondage of the dirty clothes. Then he froze when he heard a loud growling noise. Was there a ... wild animal in the mansion? Then Nodoff heard that sound again, followed by a pain in his stomach. The ghoul stared in confusion as he placed both hands on his stomach. Was ... this ... _hunger_? He chose to ignore it and continue with loading the dirty clothes in the washing machine, until Nodoff suddenly felt woozy in the head and fell to his knees. What just happened to all the energy he had a few seconds ago?! It was as if he had inhaled Sleep Sand all over again. Eek and Squeek picked Nodoff up by the shoulders to raise him to his feet again. The bats lead the ghoul to the refrigerator door, Eek was the first to open it. Nodoff looked at the contents inside and turned his head away, covering his mouth.

"Looks _disgusting_ to me," Nodoff complained.

Now there was nothing wrong with the food inside. There was an array of sausages, cheeses, fruits, vegetables, even some left over food from the previous night, but still quite fresh. The reason Nodoff complained that it all looked disgusting was because he _hated_ food. All too vividly Nodoff remembered being severely punished by his demon father because a spell was not performed right. And that punishment was to be forced to eat rotten meat until he would get ... but Nodoff didn't want to think about it! Besides, he had all the magical powers in Dream World that kept him satiated. But that growling sound in his stomach returned, the pain increased, and lethargy once again forced Nodoff to his knees. Panic gripped his mind, Nodoff didn't know how to fight it off. And because he was unprepared to fight such an attack, Nodoff caved in and grabbed the first thing he spotted in the refrigerator, which was a bag full of cheddar biscuits. Quickly he placed one in his mouth and munched on it so greedily. It worked! The panic in his head was gone and his stomach stopped growling. Then Nodoff grabbed another one, this time chewing it more slowly to appreciate the flavor. He ... never tasted anything like _this_ before! Nodoff's orange eyes lit up as he savored every bite of the biscuit, he really _liked_ it! Before he knew what he was doing, Nodoff went for another ... and another ... and another ...

Eek and Squeek encircled Nodoff's head a third time to get his attention. They were reminding him about the laundry, a flustered Nodoff put the remaining biscuits back in the refrigerator and resumed with the laundry. It didn't take him long to finish loading the first set in the machine, but he couldn't reach the top to pour detergent into the dispenser. Eek and Squeek returned with a stool for Nodoff, catching him off-guard. Why did these annoying bats bring him a stool for? Were they insulting Nodoff's ability to climb? If they were, how _dare_ they! Ironically, Nodoff found himself situating the stool next to the machine and stepped on it to raise himself up. It was just the right height! Nodoff spotted the dispenser to the right. He placed the bottle of detergent in front of him to read the instructions:

 _"Follow care label instructions, then sort. Test inside seam for colorfastness."_

Nodoff raised a curious eyebrow, he assumed that it meant to look at the pictographs below. He saw the one on the far right with the number 5 and a darkened bar below it. "I guess this will do," Nodoff whispered to himself as he twisted the cap off. He saw the same numbers and aligned them with the pictographs, they matched. Then Nodoff poured the liquid detergent in the cap until it reached the end of the bar under the number 5, before placing the bottle on top. He opened the dispenser, poured the liquid inside, closed it, then twisted the cap closed on the bottle.

That really wasn't too hard, Nodoff thought. Now all that was left was to turn it on ... but wait! There were so many buttons on the machine itself. Which was the one to turn it on?! Now _this_ looked confusing. Nodoff's eyes scanned the buttons, he decided to take a shot in the dark and pressed the top one on the left with a circle marked on it. Nodoff could hear the washing machine make a droning sound, which sounded to the ghoul that the machine was operating properly. The timer read 50 minutes on the machine, it would be a while before the next load would be placed in there. It was 8:07am, Morgana had wanted all of the laundry done by lunch hour. Once again, Nodoff's mind was gripped by panic ... but he wasn't hungry anymore. The ghoul looked at his own hands, they were both trembling as if he must use them for something. But what was he to do in the mean time?! He couldn't cast _magic_ from them! Eek and Squeek tugged at Nodoff's sleeve, begging him to follow. The ghoul was starting to get annoyed with the bats, it was as if they were barking orders at him. Eek had pointed to the television with his wing, Nodoff shook his head.

"I don't watch that!" he retorted.

Eek insisted.

"I don't want to!" Nodoff reacted. "It's a waste of time!"

Eek wasted no time in turning the TV on. It was already on the St. Canard local weather channel, which was forecasting foggy weather. _That_ caught Nodoff's attention. He rushed to the couch and sat down to see what else was going on. The next three days also forecasted dismal weather, the first two were heavy rain showers, the third another foggy day. Nodoff liked dismal weather, something about it relaxed him. When the commercials began, Eek dropped the TV remote on Nodoff's lap. The ghoul picked it up and stared at it. He studied the array of buttons on the rectangular-shaped object. Some were dark gray, some were black. The object felt a little cold in Nodoff's hand, he pressed one of the buttons to see what would happen. The image on the screen changed ... then came an image of horror that made Nodoff jump so high he hit the ceiling with his head. It was an image of a war tank, the very same one that dim-witted Darkwing Duck rode and would've _killed_ the ghoul if Morgana's dreams hadn't rescued him, turning ammunition into a bouquet of flowers. Nodoff landed back on the couch on his bum. Stars encircled his head, but he regained his sense of balance back. The image on the screen was gone now, showing a series of more commercials. Nodoff pushed another button ... the next image that showed was far worse! It was a bizarre image of a pale face with a sickening grin that reached from ear to ear, and the eyes burned yellow-white beads with dark sockets surrounding them. Nodoff felt himself sink into a stupor, his whole body froze ... then his breath quickened. Eek rushed quickly to turn off the TV; the horrifying image was gone. Nodoff was still in a stupor, but he finally managed to move his arm upward and use it to shield his eyes, as if the scary face was still there.

Finally, the first load of laundry was done. Squeak tugged on Nodoff's shirt, beckoning him back to the washing machine. Nodoff placed the clothes in the drier, though in a stupid manner, dropping a few articles of clothing on the floor. Eek and Squeek helped him a little until all clothes were secured inside. Squeak pointed at a button with his wing for Nodoff to press, the ghoul obliged.

There were still quite a few more dirty loads left. Once again, Nodoff accidentally dropped more clothes on himself, was driven to fury and tempted to tear a piece of clothing only for the two annoying bats to stop him by encircling his head. Then Nodoff punched the washing machine, he recoiled back in pain as the knuckles of his left hand were know bruised and throbbing. He then kicked it with his right foot, once again he recoiled himself back and grabbed his foot with both hands, jumping up and down in agony. When the pain in his foot dulled down, Nodoff went into a mad rage and kicked all the remaining dirty laundry until it all fell on the floor, then he rolled on the floor, shielding both eyes with his arms while kicking his feet in the air.

Eek and Squeek exchanged curious looks. _What_ was the ghoul _doing_?!


	5. Nodoff's Laundry Madness

**Thank you teamdark2741 for helping to overcome my Writer's Block! So, our favorite little ghoul thinks he's being clever by finding _loopholes_ in the system ... but he forgets that this is _not_ Dream World. In the _Real World_ , taking short cuts do not only _prevent_ you from moving forward, you end up digging yourself a deeper ditch than you can imagine. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 5: _Nodoff's Laundry Madness_**

Nodoff purposely fell on his sitting spot after throwing his little tantrum. His orange eyes rolled for moment, then he vigorously shook his head. What just happened? The last thing the ghoul remembered was vague outlines of a face he saw on that contraption called a television set. After that, he couldn't remember anything else. Then he took a good look at the array of dirty clothes that was lying on the floor. Oh God! What a _mess_! Eek and Squeek were just flittering their wings, they were no more than three feet away from him. Nodoff shot a glance at them and noticed the worried look on their faces. But he mistook their expressions as guilty looks.

"Did _you_ make this mess?!"

Both bats' eyes bulged in bewilderment. Nodoff took that as an _admission of guilt_.

" _Ooooo, I oughta-_!" The ghoul took a shirt from the floor and threw it at the bats (who both were quick enough to dodge it). Nodoff looked at the clock, then his mind went into a panic. It was now 10:07am! Wasn't it just 8:07am not too long ago?! Morgana had said she would be back by lunch hour. Wasn't lunch hour to these people usually at 12pm? The ghoul yanked on his own ears anxiously. Each load took 50 minutes to complete. How was he going to get all of it done by lunch hour?! And the first load he had put in the washing machine earlier hadn't been put through the drier yet! In a rush-induced fury, Nodoff placed the washed clothes into the drier, he had a hard time finding the button to start it. There were so many buttons, "Less Dry," "Normal Dry," "More Dry," "Damp Dry,"  
"Wrinkle Prevent" ... _which_ button turned on the machine?! Nodoff pressed the "Normal Dry" but nothing happened. Drops of sweat oozed from the roots of Nodoff's blue hair and he repeatedly press the button thrice more times. Eek slapped his wing against his forehead while Squeek shook _his_ head. Again, this ghoul was acting weird! Didn't Morgana _specifically_ tell him that the manual was sitting right in between the two machines? Did she _not_ tell him to refer to the manual if he had any trouble? Not to mention that Nodoff had blamed _them_ for the dirty clothes that _he_ threw on the floor. Just for that, the bats would _not_ to help him _this_ time.

* * *

" _How_ long do you intend to keep that ghoul at _your_ house?"

Darkwing Duck scratched his in befuddlement as he and Morgana had already left Hungry Hippo's. The two ducks had been discussing Nodoff's current situation. Morgana had told him everything that had happened that night, including the part when she _spanked_ Nodoff. Darkwing Duck covered his face, he could hardly believe what he just heard. Part of him found the thought of Morgana spanking Nodoff _disturbing_ while another part of him found it _hilarious_. _Well, he WAS asking for it_ , the masked duck thought as he smirked. He inwardly cheered Morgana for overcoming her vices. _Good girl, Morgana_! But Darkwing also was concerned about Morgana's health. She confided in Darkwing that he had been experiencing chest pains and extreme fatigue. _And_ she housed the demon of Dream World in her Manor who had the capability of turning on her or plotting his revenge against her. Was this a wise thing to do?

"As long as it takes for the message to _sink in_ ," Morgana replied. Despite how things looked, she didn't just impulsively choose to keep Nodoff imprisoned at the Manor. The witch did actually have a plan and she discussed more of the details with Darkwing. Her plan was to make Nodoff's life completely unbearable for him. The ghoul had to experience all the pain and pressure that Nodoff had not only put them _both_ through but had put all of St. Canard through. And of course, Nodoff would have to deal with his own worst enemies constantly watching him, which was even better.

"But wouldn't that just give him more reason to turn on you?" Darkwing asked.

"Dark, he _turned_ on me before he wound up here," Morgana reminded him. "And if he _did_ decide to do it again, which would be rather _stupid_ on his part, Eek and Squeek will report it to me first. And I'll just punish him _again_ if necessary."

Darkwing gave Morgana a stunned look. Now he was _really_ starting to worry. "Yeah, but you know he doesn't like to let things go. After all, he did turn that bouquet of flowers into a mallet and busted my tank. You're not worried that he might break one of your prized possessions out of spite."

"If he does, then _he'll_ be the one paying for it, not me," Morgana replied with crossed arms. "We don't owe him anything and we're not going to rack up debt for _his_ stupidity."

Darkwing sighed and pondered things over. It sounds like Morgana had everything under control herself. Why did she need _him_ to come to the Manor? She wasn't going to _use_ Darkwing as a decoy to make Nodoff jealous ... was she? "What would you need _me_ to do, Morgana?"

"In regards to Nodoff, not a thing," she replied, "... _unless_ he tries anything on you or tries to do any harm to a citizen of St. Canard."

"Oh ... ok ..." Darkwing replied with a hint of reluctance in his tone. Sure, as the _ever heroic_ crime fighter of St. Canard, he had no problems bringing Nodoff to justice _if_ the situation called for it. But St. Canard is a big city, thus crime was vast. There would be _other_ criminals he would have to bring to justice too, he didn't have all the time in the world to be handcuffed to _one_. Plus he had an adopted daughter to look after, he can't afford to have Launchpad look after her all the time, otherwise he would be derailed from doing his job as a mechanic to the duck-copter. Not to mention that, in spite of all the horrible things Nodoff did, he and Morgana were technically _trespassing_ in _Nodoff's_ territory. But Morgana had a much deep-seeded reason for keeping Nodoff there, he could feel it. He just hoped that she wouldn't become the very thing she hated. She would only be drowning herself further into debt than she already is.

* * *

Back at MacCawber Manor, Nodoff threw another tantrum. He _still_ didn't find out which button started the damn drier! _And_ it was 11:49am! _And_ the stench of dirty laundry was so overwhelming, he had to crawl away into the living-room to breathe, otherwise he thought he would vomit!

Nodoff went to the couch and lay flat on his stomach. His head was spinning woozily, the outlines of objects looked all blurry. His dizzy spell didn't last long, the ghoul was finally able to relax ... until he heard two voices coming from outside.

"She's back!"

Nodoff had to get out of there!

* * *

"I'm pretty sure Nodoff will have no problem finishing your laundry," Darkwing said to Morgana.

Morgana said nothing but sighed and shook her head. Somehow, she had a sneaky feeling that Nodoff may have messed up doing the laundry. That was why she showed the ghoul the manual in case he had trouble. Oh, and speaking of which, Morgana spotted Eek and Squeek flying out through a crack in the window glass. Eek fluttered right by her head and told Morgana what had happened, while Squeek flew over to Darkwing to tell him the same thing.

" _Oh God_! You're _kidding_ me!" Darkwing reacted as he slapped his forehead in disbelief. "All those magical powers Nodoff has, and he can't do _laundry_?!"

Morgana's reaction was much darker. She had a smile on her face, but her eyes were closed shut and her pulse quickened.

"Oh, he _did_ , did he?" the witch uttered in a low-pitched voice that sounded sinister. "Thank you for reporting this to me."

Darkwing caught a glimpse of Morgana's face and when he did, he cowered naturally. The masked duck knew too well what that expression meant. If there was anything that Darkwing learned during his misadventures is when a woman smiled yet trembled from within, it did _not_ mean that she was happy. It meant she was _thoroughly_ pissed off. The two ducks haven't entered the mansion yet to see how bad it was, yet Darkwing was beginning to feel a twinge of pity for the poor ruler of Dream World.

"Uh, Morgana?" Darkwing began to giggle nervously. "What are you going to _do_ to Nodoff?"

"What his own parents should've done a long time ago," Morgana replied.

Darkwing Duck gaped as he lifted his head skyward and covered his mouth. _Ohhh man! Nodoff's REALLY going to get it!_

* * *

The two ducks opened the door to MacCawber Manor. Their eyes grew big as saucers when they saw the mess all over the floor. Not to mention the stench of the dirty laundry was pervading the entire first floor. Both ducks plugged their nostrils.

"Allow me to finish the laundry for you," Darkwing insisted through a nasal voice.

"That won't be necessary, Dark," Morgana replied in a similar nasal tone. "I can handle the laundry myself. In the meantime, help yourself to some cranberry juice."

Darkwing was honored, but politely declined the offer. Instead, he stood by the door and watched Morgana from a distance. She started the drier, then collected a good handful of dirty clothes and put them in the washing machine. There were still plenty of dirty clothes on the floor, but at least the task was half finished. Most of these clothes were not hers, they were her colleagues'. Very rarely did they have the time to visit Morgana, but when they did, they entrusted Morgana to do the laundry for them since it was practically impossible to story washing machines under tombstones. Long story there ...

While Morgana busied herself picking up the laundry, Darkwing Duck spotted a creature with blue hair and blue-green skin slowly creeping down the steps. It began to peek in between the stair posts, the masked hero knew who it was. He could see the creature's ears droop guiltily. But Darkwing pretended not to notice and waited until Morgana was finished. He tilted his wide-brimmed hat to cover his eyes, expecting it to give the impression to the ghoul that he was not paying attention. After he had seen that Morgana picked up the last of the clothes, Darkwing decided to call the ghoul out.

"There's no need to hide up there, Nodoff!" Darkwing hollered, loud enough that it startled both Nodoff and Morgana at the same time. The masked could hear a loud thud, it sounded as if Nodoff slipped and fell down the stairs. Luckily, he wasn't too far from the floor, otherwise he would've seriously been hurt. Morgana shot an angry glare in Nodoff's direction, the ghoul crawled all the way to the corner and hugged his knees, trembling. Darkwing decided to step in and stand right next to Morgana, so he could see could get a better view of Nodoff's face. Upon noticing the masked mallard, Nodoff's orange eyes narrowed to slits.

"Were _you_ the one who made that noise?!" the ghoul pointed with an accusing finger.

"I did," Darkwing Duck nodded.

"Why you _meddlesome_ , _feather-brained_ -!" Nodoff hollered in a rage-induced fury, but stopped short when he began to notice both ducks standing side by side, arms crossed with neutral facial expressions. Morgana was the first to break the silence.

"Why don't you tell us what _happened_ , Nodoff?" the witch asked, drumming her fingers on her arms as she awaited the ghoul's explanation.

Nodoff felt beads of sweat trickled down his temples. He scratched the back of his head and he fumbled in his mind for the right words to say. "I ... started the first load of laundry ..."

" _Yes_?" Morgana urged in a flutey voice.

Nodoff gulped. "Then I ... heard something about foggy weather ..."

" _Go on_ ," Morgana egged him on.

Before Nodoff could continue, he saw two pairs of yellow eyes blink from beneath Morgana's thick black hair. They belonged to Eek and Squeek, who flew out to stare back at the ghoul. Nodoff's ears stood up aggressively like devil horns. "Yes, _they_ were the ones who made the mess!" the ghoul spat out, pointing the finger. "I was trying to finish on time, but they threw all the clothes on the floor before I could-"

"They did _not_ make the mess, Nodoff!" Morgana interrupted, not even giving him the chance to finish. " _You_ did!"

The ghoul shook his head in disbelief. "It's _true_ , I tell you!" he whined. "I was trying to finish on time, and-"

"Eek and Squeek _saw_ you, Nodoff!" Morgana vehemently spat. "They told me you threw a tantrum by tossing all the clothes on the floor, _kicked_ my washing machine, and _blamed them_ for _your_ mistake! _And_ you failed to take a look at the manual I _just_ showed you before I left!"

Within seconds, Nodoff's ears drooped guiltily upon the realization of Morgana's words. Yes, it was true. He was horrified by a scary image on the TV screen and somehow it made him act crazy, throwing dirty clothes to and fro. But he had completely blanked out, as if it had never happened. And he had _completely_ forgotten about the manual.

"Nodoff, if you had attempted to decipher the manual or had asked Eek and Squeek for help, I would've dismissed it as an honest mistake." Morgana suddenly had an after thought. "But _not_ paying attention to details, throwing tantrums and then blaming someone else are _not_ _honest_ mistakes ... _are_ they?"

That cold, terrified feeling throughout his whole body came back again. It was the same feeling Nodoff underwent the previous night ... just before the witch had taken him over her knee and ... _Oh no!_ the ghoul thought. _Not AGAIN!_

"You're coming upstairs with me, Nodoff!" Morgana insisted as she grabbed Nodoff by the wrist and dragged him behind her. Nodoff had noticed Darkwing was just standing there. The ghoul shook his free fist in anger and demanded to know why the duck was standing there and won't help him. Darkwing nonchalantly shook his head and shrugged his shoulders, telling the ghoul that there was nothing he could do. It was a matter between Nodoff and Morgana.

"Just think of it _this_ way," Darkwing said to the ghoul in the most reassuring voice the duck could muster. "It will be over _soon_."


	6. Nodoff Has a Problem

**Sheesh, will Nodoff ever learn his lesson?! Look what he's putting poor Morgana through! Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 6: _Nodoff Has a Problem_**

"OW, OW, OW! OH PLEASE, _PLEASE_!"

Once again, Morgana had the ghoul draped over her knees and let loose her stinging swats on Nodoff's backside. She had dragged Nodoff to the attic, so that Darkwing wouldn't be able to see or hear it. And she did not do the three layer approach this time. This time, she had pulled both his trousers and boxers down, exposing the bare bottom, going straight for the kill.

"STOP, MORGANA!" Nodoff begged, unable to block her swats because his wrists were bound behind his back again. " _PLEASE_ MORGANA! HAVE MERCY!"

Within seconds, Nodoff's backside swelled and glowed as red as a traffic light. His legs jerked with each swat applied on his sitting spot. And once again, a puddle of tears spilled from Nodoff's orange eyes onto the floor.

"I'm sorry, Nodoff," Morgana replied, somewhat coldly, "but it seems you have a lying problem, and that is _not_ acceptable. I cannot ignore actions that are unacceptable."

Nodoff begged, pleaded, and wailed for the pain to stop. He didn't like having his sitting spot exposed and smacked, especially because Morgana's swats were very hard and merciless. The ghoul was starting to think that the witch _enjoyed_ exploiting his weakness like this. But if Nodoff really cared to look up, he would noticed that Morgana's face seemed detached and bored.

"Only _you_ can make this stop, Nodoff," Morgana told the ghoul, temporarily resting her arm since it was starting to get sore. "Tell Eek and Squeek you're sorry for shifting the blame on them."

Nodoff's wet face turned as red as his bare bottom was right now. Sorry? _Sorry_?! _That_ blasted word again?! The very same word that his own demon father forced him to say any time Nodoff so much as hesitated to do something or casted a certain spell wrong?!

"I WILL _NOT_ SAY THAT WORD!" Nodoff hollered with great defiance. "YOU _CANNOT MAKE ME_ SAY THAT WORD!"

Morgana sighed pitifully and shook her head. "You're _right_ , Nodoff. I _cannot_ make you say what you don't want. But I cannot condone unacceptable behavior either. You leave me no other choice."

With that said, Morgana resumed her spanking hand and beat Nodoff's sitting spot so mercilessly that it throbbed. The poor ghoul wailed like a wounded hellhound as his bare bottom was so embarrassingly exploited by Morgana's spanking hand, it was like the Spanish Inquisition to him. Why wouldn't the witch just _stop_?! Nodoff suddenly began to lose his strength, resisting and fighting Morgana's. The witch's spankings weren't nearly as long as the last time, but Nodoff's energy faded much faster than ever. Energy and matter did not work the same here as it did in Dream World. As Morgana had said, it was all up to Nodoff to decide how long this punishment would go on ... and he was getting so weak and tired.

"Alright, alright ..." Nodoff uttered in a breathy voice. "I won't blame ... Eek and Squeek ... for anything again."

" _Promise_?" Morgana emphasized, her swats becoming lighter now.

"I promise ..." Nodoff meekly replied. "No more, Morgana ... _Please_ ..."

Morgana delivered a final three swats before coming to a complete stop. She untied Nodoff's wrists and allowed him to wipe away the tears he shed with the back of his arm while waiting for Eek and Squeek to return with a box of tissues and a glass of water. She rested her hand on the ghoul's back, he was sweating profusely and panting for breath. Morgana gently rubbed Nodoff's back, the poor creature needed to calm down. Although Nodoff hung his head down in shame, he did take notice to the gentle motion of Morgana's hand rubbing his back this time. He had remember her doing so the last time ... but why was she doing it? She _hit_ him! She _exploited_ his _sitting spot_ , and now she's stroking his back ... as if he were some kind of cat? He felt another rage-induced fury burn in the pit of his stomach and surge throughout his whole body. He thought it was powerful enough to cause him to punch Morgana on her thighs, as if his magical powers were returning. Alas, the most power he could muster was a throbbing sensation in his hands and shaking his fists in the air before weakly allowing them to drop in defeat. _How disgusting!_ Nodoff thought. To be hung over one's lap like a dirty towel, and then to be rubbed on the back as if he were a household pet. What kind of magical curse did Morgana cast to weaken him in this way?

"You can stand up now," Morgana told the ghoul, she was not going to turn him upward like the last time.

Nodoff made an effort to lift his upper body with both hands, but clumsily fell on the floor and rolled onto his sore bottom. "OW!" the ghoul cried.

"You _can_ stand up on your own, Nodoff," Morgana repeated, keeping her tone the same pitch as before.

Nodoff awkwardly leaned forward to lift himself to his feet. He struggled at first, but was able to stand up. The ghoul sniffled, tears were still spilling down his cheeks. He rubbed his sore bottom to soothe it, though it seemed to have the opposite effect. He decided not to press his palms so hard on it and tried again. It seemed to help ease the sting a little, but the throbbing was so stubborn. Nodoff pulled up his boxers and pants, wincing every few seconds as the clothing brushed against his sore bottom. Once again, he rubbed it to soothe the pain. By that time, Eek and Squeek had already appeared with the glass of water and box of tissues. Eek fluttered in front of Nodoff and generously gave him a tissue. The ghoul reluctantly accepted it and wiped his tear-stained face before blowing his nose. Eek then patted Nodoff gently on his face with his wing while Squeek placed the glass of water next to the hourglass of sparkling sand.

"Eek and Squeek forgive you," Morgana told Nodoff as she gestured for the ghoul to take the water. The ghoul wasted no time in taking the water from the table and drinking it. Once again, he had done so in a stupid manner, making water dribble down his chin. Morgana called him out on it so she could get his attention.

"Make an acute angle with your arm," she told Nodoff. "That way, it won't dribble so much."

The ghoul angled his arm as the witch instructed and drank the water. No drops of water dribbled this time.

"Come here, Nodoff," Morgana gestured with her finger.

Nodoff crawled out of his skin and his legs froze. He was now thoroughly frightened of Morgana.

"The longer you take, the harder it's going to be for you, Nodoff!" the witch said in a raised voice.

Nodoff flinched as he attempted to walk in Morgana's direction. Both of his legs felt like stone, not to mention he walked very stiffly since his bottom was still sore.

"Do you understand _why_ I had to spank you?" Morgana asked, her arms crossed.

Nodoff made a crank motion with his hand as if it were the winding mechanism to his mouth. "B-b-because I didn't f-finish the l-laundry on t-time?"

Morgana shook her head. Nodoff's ears drooped, clearly she did not like his answer. But the witch decided to be merciful and allowed Nodoff a second guess.

"B-b-because I ... th-th-threw a t-tantrum?"

"Nodoff, you can do _better_ than that," Morgana demanded.

Tears began to trickle down his face again. Why didn't Morgana like his answers?!

"Stop crying!" Morgana ordered. "I _told_ you that you cannot con me with crying!"

"I-I-I'm n-not!" Nodoff sobbed, his tears becoming puddles again.

Morgana was tempted to take the ghoul by the arms and shake him furiously, but she could hear Nodoff's breath coming in short gulps again. She wanted the ghoul to _think_ about his own actions and _how_ his actions affected _others_. How could he do that if his mind, body, and soul were gripped with fear?! Morgana had to think about this. Perhaps she was letting her anger get out of hand. After all, she did ask him to have the clothes done before lunch hour, Nodoff was partially right on his guess, not to mention the other part about throwing a tantrum. But those were not her biggest concerns. She would've cared less if the laundry took all day, and tantrums wouldn't have fazed her. What Morgana was really trying to do was to test Nodoff to see if he would revert back to his old habits ... such as lying. And as she had pointed out while she spanked him, the ghoul an underlying problem. He was a _pathological liar_. After all, Dream World was a place that _defied_ truth, logic, and reasoning. Eek and Squeek said something about an image on the TV screen was what made Nodoff go crazy before he even knew what he was doing. And the two bats also told her that it looked like he didn't even remember throwing the tantrum. Upon looking at the hapless ghoul right now, Morgana decided to soften her voice.

" _Breathe_ , Nodoff," the witch encouraged, making a motion with her hand in front of her diaphragm. Nodoff tried to emulate her, but worried that he wasn't doing it right. So Morgana continued to encourage him to breathe, until his breathing slowed down.

"You get one more guess, Nodoff," Morgana informed him. "Do you understand _why_ I had to spank you?"

Nodoff took a deep breath before he found his tongue again. "B-because ... I blamed Eek and Squeek for making a mess ..."

"It's because you _lied_ ," Morgana pointed out. Seemingly endless tears drizzled down Nodoff's face and the ghoul hung his head down in shame. "This isn't the first time you've done this, Nodoff! And you _refusing_ to apologize only makes things _worse_! Have you _forgotten_ about all your slaves that you had forced into _debt_?!"

Nodoff did not say a word but covered his face with both hands, weeping _still_. His large ears drooped heavily ... he _had_ forgotten. Nodoff was so fixated on Morgana the whole time ... _and_ that meddlesome Darkwing Duck ... He had completely forgotten about the others. But ... there were just too many! How was Nodoff supposed to keep track of them all?! After all people were just _commodities_ ... well, that's what his _father_ always said ...

But Morgana pointed out the facts ... and _that_ was a slap in the face for Nodoff. Because in his own world, those who merely pointed out the facts had their deepest fears exploited. Nodoff may not have harmed anyone in the physical sense, but many who had their fears exploited were driven to madness. Only few managed to overcome it through professional counseling ... if they could afford it.

But now ... now the situation had been reversed. It was now Nodoff's turn to have his own fears exploited. The ghoul fell to his knees, begging Morgana to have mercy on him. He looked as if he were a prisoner of the Dark Ages about to be executed. _Good!_ Morgana thought. That's what she _wanted_ the ghoul to feel!

"We will suffer for you no longer, Nodoff!" Morgana said with great defiance. "Just _try_ and resort to your old tricks _here_! Until you realize the error of your ways, you will be at our mercy! Until you make the effort to become a better person, you will be under our watch every second of the day! You will be embarrassed, you will be humiliated, you will be wishing for death to release you. But we will not allow you that option. And there's nothing you can do to stop us!"

Nodoff arched his back forward as he wept bitterly. He was practically cowering before the witch.

"But first ... you will need another bath again," Morgana replied. "You smell of dirty laundry."

Morgana's insults plunged through Nodoff like a wooden stake, making him cry even more. Now he _knew_ the witch had cursed him. Insults _never_ used to bother him! That was because he knew how to deflect them with his trickery and magic. But he had been stripped of all his magic. And Morgana's anger was like a giant behemoth to him, he had never felt so exposed in his whole life! Before he could brood any further on it, Morgana grabbed him by the wrist. Nodoff resisted, afraid that she was going to beat him again. He hung limply by the wrist that Morgana was holding, but the witch dragged him forward. What horrors awaited the poor ghoul now?


	7. The Hardships of LIFE Nodoff Gets In

**Here's the chapter Nodoff really wakes up to reality ... and not in the way he expects (then again, what was he expecting to begin with anyway?). Enjoy!**

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 **Chapter 7:** ** _The Hardships of LIFE ... Nodoff's Injury_**

For two weeks, Nodoff, _ruler of Dream World_ , had been a _slave_ to Morgana MacCawber. At 5:45am, Morgana had pounded on the floor door to the attic, asking if the ghoul was up. If he did not respond, Morgana would march right next to the bed and scream in his ear. Nodoff didn't like it in the least, but that didn't matter. The ghoul was being punished, that was the bottom line! Lazily, Nodoff followed the witch downstairs, the first thing he was made to do was to mop the kitchen floor. The kitchen wasn't that big and the ghoul did a fair job of mopping ... _except_ he did not check if the mop water in the bucket was clean first. Because of this seemingly minor bit of ignorance of details, Morgana made Nodoff do it all over again. He was made to do it three times in a row before he finally got it right. Then she had put Nodoff on laundry duty again, this time she stood by to see _how_ the ghoul was doing the laundry. He did a better job of it _that_ time, he still got confused with some of the buttons. He would ask Morgana which button turned the machine on, to which she would reply, "I don't know. What does the manual say?"

Sweeping and dusting were not so festive either. Because MacCawber Manor was so ancient and so big, Nodoff accidentally inhaled some dust in his lungs, coughing profusely. Some dust would get in his face and even in his eyes. He frequently had to stop what he was doing and find the nearest bathroom to wash the dust from his face and the dirt from his eyes. When Morgana check up with him and asked him what was taking so long, Nodoff complained that the dust was making him sneeze (which it did) and it was making it hard for him to concentrate. Frankly, Morgana took it as the ghoul was making excuses for slacking off and that he just had to _pick up the speed_. This knocked Nodoff down a peg and he would simply walk away, grumbling that Morgana was such a lazy witch and that she couldn't do anything herself. To his dismay however, Morgana was still within earshot of the grumbling, to which she dispassionately replied, "What did you _just_ say?" Because of that, Nodoff got into trouble with Morgana and was made to clean the outside of the _whole_ manor. That included cleaning the roof, scrubbing all the windows, and sweeping off all the cobwebs that were collected. Of course, Archie, Morgana's pet spider, happened to be in the processing of making his web to catch his dinner and Nodoff, _unknowingly_ , _ruined_ the spider's web. Archie took his revenge on the ghoul by crawling inside Nodoff's shirt and tickled the poor, defenseless ghoul under his arms, on his ribs, and on top of his belly. And because Nodoff had no flying powers of his own in the Real World, he had to use a tall ladder to climb, thus he clung to the ladder for dear life while Archie tickled him mercilessly. Nodoff vehemently commanded the spider to _get off him_ , but the ghoul did not know how to monitor the decibel range of his voice. This caused an array of complaints toward the ghoul for making too much noise, not to mention a target for throwing objects at him. Nodoff quickly had climbed down to be out of range of their anger, he didn't want to get hit by any of them (luckily, Archie had stopped tickling him when he realized what was going on). Darkwing Duck happened to be there that day, so he was the one to fend off the angry neighbors, stating that Nodoff was a _handyman_ that he and Morgana hired who came from the country and was new to the neighborhood. Nodoff's orange eyes bulged in astonishment upon hearing the masked duck speak in his defense. _Why_ did that dim-witted Darkwing Duck _lie_ for the ghoul?

Of course, Morgana was not the _only_ one who had put Nodoff to work. Darkwing had his fair share of chores for the ghoul too. Because working non-stop made Nodoff so hungry, he greedily _ate_ all the food in Morgana's refrigerator, leaving nothing left for her. Morgana was about to punish the ghoul, fortunately Darkwing spoke in Nodoff's defense once again, saying that the ghoul couldn't help himself and was just hungry. Darkwing had volunteered to help Morgana buy some new groceries, he insisted that he would bring Nodoff with him to help out. Once again, the ghoul's eyes bulged in bewilderment when Darkwing had spoken in his defense. That duck was up to something ... And indeed, Darkwing was. He drove the duck-mobile, Nodoff sat in the seat where Launchpad normally would. The duck had an extra helmet for Nodoff to wear in case of accidents. Everything whizzed by so fast, Nodoff thought he was going to be sick to his stomach from all the food he ate back at the manor. Finally, they had stopped in front of the supermarket. Nodoff's head was spinning as he clumsily descended the passenger's seat. Darkwing gave him a moment to regain his balance, then he beckoned the ghoul to follow him. But the ghoul hesitated. _Why_ did the duck bring him _here_? And the place was crowded with people! A couple of passer-bys spotted the ghoul and began to stare at him.

"It's not Halloween yet, kid!" one of them said. "Why are you dressed up in that goblin suit?"

 _Goblin suit_?! Nodoff began to turn red in the face with fury.

"And why are you at the supermarket?" the other pointed out. "That's no place to go trick-or-treatin'!"

Nodoff was sweating profusely, these two guys were making him nervous. Darkwing took notice of what was happening and tugged Nodoff by the sleeve to move forward, unfazed by the fact that the two passer-bys mocked Darkwing Duck's outfit too.

" _Ignore_ them," Darkwing commanded Nodoff, "and don't _stand_ there. You _never_ stand still out in the streets, it attracts people's attention."

Although Nodoff didn't like being ordered around by the duck, he was somewhat relieved by the fact that the passer-bys made fun of Darkwing too. The ghoul followed him without further hesitation.

Inside the store, Nodoff's was caught off-guard by the movement of shopping carts that whizzed by him. What was _that_?! Once again, Darkwing grabbed Nodoff by his shirt sleeve and tugged him forward, reminding him _not to stand still_ in the store. But _where_ were they going?! And Nodoff didn't appreciate being _dragged_ by the sleeve either. The first aisle they stopped by was in the bread aisle. Darkwing pulled up the cart and placed to bags of sliced wheat bread inside the cart. Nodoff watched as Darkwing fumbled through his pockets in search of something. The masked duck had a concerned expression on his face, as if he had forgotten something. When he turned both pockets inside out, a nervous chuckle escaped Darkwing's throat. "I ... guess I forgot to bring the shopping list," he said, mainly to himself. Nodoff slapped his forehead in disbelief. That _idiot_ duck didn't bring a shopping list with him?! The ghoul pulled down his ears in embarrassment. But what reason did Nodoff have to complain about? The pressure would all be on _Darkwing_ , _not_ him!

"Oh well," Darkwing replied with a passive wave of his arm. "I don't need one. I know what to get." The masked duck beckoned Nodoff to follow him, once again the ghoul hesitated. Why would he want to put his trust in a dim-witted, absent-minded, feather-brained duck?! Darkwing noticed the embarrassed look on Nodoff's face then added _humorously_ and _melodiously_ , "If you're _good_ , I'll give you a ride in the _shopping cart_."

 _That_ pissed Nodoff off to no return! The ghoul ran in Darkwing's direction, his fists shaking angrily as if he was going to let the masked duck have it. Unfazed, Darkwing grabbed Nodoff by the ears, pulled him up, and placed him inside the shopping cart like a grocery bag. Nodoff blinked his eyes in disbelief. What just happened?! He looked up to where Darkwing was, who was now pushing the shopping cart to the next aisle, which was the snacks aisle. Nodoff crossed his arms as he sat in the confines of his new _jail cell on wheels_. And to the ghoul's dismay, more passer-bys caught sight of him. This time, it was a group of women, heavy set, looked like they were grandmothers.

"Aw, isn't that _cute_?" one of the ladies cooed melodiously. "A father strolling his little son in the cart! And the little boy is in costume! Isn't that _adorable_?"

Nodoff covered his face in embarrassment. A _father_ strolling his _little son_ in the cart?! _Oh my God!_ the ghoul thought. _SOMEBODY please SHOOT me!_

Grocery shopping was a lot quicker than expected. There were only three paper bags full of groceries, Darkwing had to take into account the room in his duck-mobile. But it was just enough groceries to get Morgana by for a week or two. As for Nodoff, he now sat in the smaller seat of the motorcycle where he would occasionally let Honker sit, while the bags of groceries sat where Launchpad usually did. Once again, poor Nodoff had to endure the fast motion of objects whizzing by, making him dizzy and almost ready to gag. Upon their return to MacCawber Manor, Darkwing had Nodoff help carry the groceries in since it was Nodoff who ate all the food to begin with. By that time, Morgana's temper had cooled down. After Nodoff had brought each of the three grocery bags in the kitchen, asked him to place the food in the refrigerator accordingly. The task itself was simple, but Nodoff did not get over the embarrassment he had to endure earlier at the grocery story. So the fact that Morgana was looking over his shoulder as he was putting the stuff away made him so nervous that he ended up dropping a food product or two. But Morgana did not let her anger loose on him _that_ time because the foods he dropped were pre-packaged.

The following day, both Darkwing and Morgana had dragged Nodoff outdoors. _Drake Mallard's_ adopted daughter, Gosalyn, was preparing for a school field trip and Nodoff was made to carry her backpack to the bus stop, which was heavy with books. The field trip was to the St. Canard Zoo, Gosalyn, along with her other classmates, had to write reports on a specific animal. _Why_ was the ghoul made to carry the _girl's backpack_ for?! _He_ wasn't going to school! Not to mention he had to endure the humiliation of the girl asking her father, "What is this _weirdo_ doing here?" And it was hot outside! Nodoff was sweating and panting ... even though he was only going from the house of Drake Mallard to the bus stop. He went back and forth from the house to the bus stop, bringing Gosalyn's walkman out with a few audio cassettes, then bringing a bottle of sunscreen and bug repellant. Clearly, there wasn't enough room in the backpack to put the stuff, but Gosalyn had a tendency to overpack more than she needed anyway (not to mention that she couldn't _live_ without her walkman or some piece of technology with her). After the girl was picked up by the school bus, Darkwing and Morgana made Nodoff do some yard work. This involved getting dirty a bit since Nodoff had to hoe the ground, _Drake Mallard_ was planning on gardening his own vegetables. Nodoff had a difficult time with this. The hoe was too big and he was so small, it felt awkward for him to drag it and not make a crooked line in the ground. And the hot sun was beating down on his head. Nodoff ended up stubbing his toe on the front steps because he didn't pay attention to where he was going. The pain was merely a minor discomfort, but Nodoff who was not so great at dealing with pain (of _any_ sort) began to throw a tantrum on the ground, complaining that he had injured himself. Darkwing and Morgana rushed to see what was going on, but when they took a good look at Nodoff, they both crossed their arms in disapproval.

"That is _not_ an injury, Nodoff," Morgana stated matter-of-factly. "You just stubbed your toe because you didn't watch where you were going."

Nodoff's large ears drooped, he began to whine that the two ducks were being unfair and that they were mocking him. Darkwing and Morgana exchanged serious looks before returning their gazes to the ghoul.

"Which punishment would you prefer, Nodoff?" Morgana cross-examined the ghoul, "Hard labor or another spanking?"

Nodoff's rant ended abruptly. How much more of this Real World life did he have to endure?! _Thrice_ this witch had already spanked him! The first time was the night he was stuck in the manor, the second time after he had that mishap with the laundry, and the third time when he tried to sneak out. Yes, one evening Nodoff had tried to sneak away in hopes of finding some other portal to return back to Dream World. He attempted to escape through the window, it was Archie who spotted him and told Morgana. Boy, did the ghoul's backside get a _serious_ beating for that one! But that time, he wasn't confined to where it was only Morgana and him. _No!_ This time that dim-witted _Darkwing Duck_ was within _eye-view_ of it all! The masked duck was the one who bound Nodoff's wrists that time, then Morgana had draped the ghoul over her knee like a folded towel and went straight to spanking Nodoff's bare bottom. Morgana had scolded him so severely as she spanked him, the same way a mother would to a naughty son. She kept muttering something about the ghoul could've been seriously injured if he wasn't careful, that someone on the streets could've killed him. But this witch was so ruthless with her spankings, Nodoff's bare botton was the one getting seriously injured, not to mention that he thought he was going to die from the torture he had to endure. That was the first time Darkwing began to notice a more vulnerable and weaker side to the ghoul. He had witnessed Nodoff's tears forming a puddle on the floor, had seen how much the ghoul hyperventilated as the punishment was in process, and how much the ghoul begged for mercy. Darkwing had to be the one to put his foot down, saying that it was starting to get out of hand and that it would only make Nodoff more vengeful than he already was. It was Darkwing who suggested the idea that hard labor was punishment enough. It was also why he lied in Nodoff's defense whenever the ghoul wound up getting himself in some awkward situation. But the worst was still yet to come ...

One morning, Nodoff was rudely awakened to both Eek and Squeek fluttering around his face. The ghoul was always so cranky in the morning. He hated waking up! He hated being watched every three seconds, he hated being dragged around like a dishrag, he hated being humiliated in public! HE HATED THIS WORLD! And these annoying bats began to take the very thing that reminded him of his Dream World! They took the hour glass of sparkling sand. Nodoff was so motivated with fury that he chased Eek and Squeek down the attic stairs and near the next flight of stairs that would lead into the kitchen. But Nodoff was so blinded by rage that he did not see clearly the steps that awaited before him. With a loud thud, Nodoff struck the middle of his bare foot against the edge of his step. A sharp pain took Nodoff by surprise, and he fell down the flight of stairs. To prevent from falling on his face, Nodoff landed on the very same foot he had banged, but landed so hard that he twisted it. And the floor happened to be freshly mopped, so the slippery surface made him tweak his ankle slightly. Nodoff wound up landing on his left side. His pupils narrowed in shock. He had endured a lot of pain since he had been stuck in MacCawber Manor, none of which he liked. But ... something about this kind of pain didn't feel normal. Slowly, the ghoul attempted to lift himself to a standing position. When he put weight on his left foot, he jerked back in agony.

"Ow, ow, ow," Nodoff yelped silently.

The two bats, Eek and Squeek, began exchanging guilty looks. What have they done?

Nodoff's mind went into a panic when he heard Morgana call his name. What was he to do?! He couldn't let Morgana see him like _this_! In desperation, the ghoul turned his gaze toward the two bats.

"Don't tell her, _please_ ," Nodoff begged silently. "If she finds out, she'll punish me _again_."

Once again, Nodoff heard the witch call his name. He had to think of something to hide this. He spotted his shoes sitting by the door, he crawled as quickly as he could toward them. Quickly he slipped them on, even though he was still in his pajamas. He attempted to stand up once again, using the door knob to raise himself and stepping on his right foot first. He barely allowed his left foot to touch the ground, the pain was pretty intense. He figured he would just slowly press on it, assuming he would learn to endure the pain just like he had to endure everything else. Yeah, that's it! Maybe if he just _walked_ it out, it will go away. _No one_ will ever notice!

"Nodoff?" Morgana called a third time. She had descended the stairs, wondering where that ungrateful little ghoul had disappeared to. Then she spotted Nodoff standing by the doorway. He had clasped his hands behind his back and stood on both feet as if nothing had happened. A nervous smile graced the ghoul's face.

"Good morning, your _beautifulness_."


	8. Homesickness II Nodoff's Grief

**Thank you teamdark2741 for being such a loyal reader, as well as pointing out my little mistakes.**

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 **Chapter 8: _Homesickness II ... Nodoff's Grief_**

" _What_ did I tell you about calling me that?" Morgana insisted.

Nodoff lowered his head and heaved a sigh of defeat. " _Not_ to do it," he replied in a small voice.

" _Correct_ ," Morgana replied matter-of-factly. "Now, hurry up and get dressed! Darkwing is going to be here any minute with his friend, Launchpad!"

The corners of Nodoff's mouth quirked nervously. "Can I just stay in _these_ , Miss?"

" _What_?! _No_ , you cannot stay in _those_ , Nodoff!" Morgana cried in frustration. "Are you _kidding_?! It's day time and we're going out in public! You need to wear something _better_ than that, Nodoff."

Again, the ghoul heaved a defeated sigh. "Oh, _alright_."

Morgana turned the other way to walk back upstairs. She was still in her silk, lavender nightgown, so it would bide Nodoff some time to get his clothes. Eek and Squeak had beat him to it; the two bats brought down Nodoff's usual earth-toned outfit and placed it on the couch. The ghoul gave the two bats a confused look. _Um, okay_ , Nodoff thought. _I could do it MYSELF_. But he didn't have the time or the luxury for petty complaints. He hobbled over to where the couch was, sat down modestly, and quickly removed his pajama shirt to put on his usual autumn orange shirt and black vest. He momentarily slipped off his shoes to put on his brown pants and belt, his orange eyes caught sight of his left foot. He was secretly appalled by what he saw. His foot now swelled in the middle, it looked like a small water balloon. Nodoff began to finger it, he let out a yelp of pain then covered his mouth with the other hand in case Morgana was listening. So that he wouldn't have to see the horrid sight, Nodoff slipped his shoes back on. At least his shoe still fit on the swollen foot. A concerned Eek and Squeek encircled Nodoff's head and began chirping non-stop.

"What do you mean _I should tell her_?!" Nodoff reacted. Morgana wasn't the only one who could understand the bats' chirps and squeaks. Nodoff also possessed this ability ... it was his only non-magical trait that came useful in this world. "You _know_ how she is! She _won't_ listen to me! She'll think I'm lying and punish me _again_!"

What Nodoff really meant was that he was afraid that Morgana would not like his answers. He still couldn't get over the fact that Morgana took a nonchalant approach when he had stubbed his toe or had other minor complaints, such as getting dust in his eyes when he swept. What the ghoul didn't realize about how the Real World worked was that the concept of _pain_ here was viewed differently. A stubbed toe was not considered a high priority, even if it hurt. Such things did not prevent people from walking or doing chores. Furthermore, everything in the Real World had a _pre-procedured_ approach. If someone got dust in their eyes, there was a _procedure_ for that. One only had to rush to the sink, splash water in their eyes, blink twice, then they were as good as new. In case of a car accident, there was also a procedure for that too. Nodoff did _not_ understand this. He was too used to living in a world where pain was _non-existent_. Or if he did experience any pain, which was very rare, his own father would tell him that it was _all in his head_. So Nodoff couldn't tell the difference between minor discomfort versus something serious ... like the pain he was feeling in his left foot right now. All levels of pain were the same to him. Which was why Eek and Squeek strongly urged Nodoff to tell Morgana what had happened. Otherwise, they would tell her _for_ him.

"Oh, go ahead!" Nodoff waved both hands to them out of spite. "Go ahead and _tell on me_! You're _both_ very good at that since _you're_ the ones who watch me _every three seconds_!"

* * *

Darkwing arrived with Launchpad at MacCawber Manor. Morgana was ready for them, so was Nodoff. Launchpad had to buy a new battery for the duck-copter's engine, the old one was nearly dead. Launchpad was explaining the mechanical process of what he was doing to Morgana, who listened with keen interest even though she was no mechanic. As for Nodoff, his job was to carry Launchpad's toolbox. Morgana was greatly relieved that she didn't hear a single complaint escape Nodoff's mouth. He was finally learning to deal with the inconveniences and just work with the team. If only she had paid close attention to the dismal look on the ghoul's face.

The pain in Nodoff's left foot had increased with each step. Eek and Squeek did not report to Morgana what had happened, they still felt bad that they had caused Nodoff to injure himself. The toolbox he held was small and clearly not that heavy, but because he had to put weight on his foot with each step, it didn't help in properly balancing the weight of the toolbox. He ended up switching hands to carry it. Each step he took, the pain felt like an array of sharp knives. He began to lag further behind ... but he didn't call out to the other group members to wait on him.

Morgana and Darkwing were conversing with each other, the witch was telling Darkwing how nice it was to not hear Nodoff complain. But Darkwing was beginning to worry. Sure, it was pleasant not to hear the ghoul complain, the masked duck couldn't agree more. But as an experienced crime fighter, he knew too well when there was too much silence, it was a sign that something was wrong. Darkwing turned his head and he saw that Nodoff was lagging behind. He tapped Morgana on the shoulder and pointed to where the ghoul stood. Obviously this frustrated her.

"Nodoff, why are you taking so long?!" she cried.

Nodoff didn't answer, but heaved a deep sigh and did his best to catch up.

Morgana began to complain to Launchpad how Nodoff _always_ took too long to do the _simplest_ things. But Darkwing began to notice that Nodoff hobbled as he walked, not to mention the dark expression on the ghoul's face. Darkwing's instincts were correct. Something _was_ wrong, and the masked duck was getting worried.

"Um, Morgana?" Darkwing chuckled nervously with a gentle tug on Morgana's sleeve. The witch reacted unfavorably to being interrupted during a conversation with Launchpad, but Darkwing insisted that she take one good look at Nodoff's left foot. At first, Morgana thought Nodoff was faking and tried to convince Darkwing otherwise, but Launchpad began to notice it too.

"What's wrong with the little guy?" Launchpad replied.

Nodoff began to notice three pairs of eyes staring at his situation, he dropped the toolbox and plopped on the sidewalk in a sitting position. He covered his face to look away. Darkwing Duck was convinced that Nodoff was _not_ faking _anything_. Not _this_ time. He caught notice of the ghoul's face before he covered it, it looked as if the creature was about to cry. When a person was legitimately in pain, he/she would _never_ lie about that.

Darkwing knelt in front of Nodoff. "Remove your left shoe," the masked duck commanded in a neutral tone.

"Leave me alone," Nodoff replied in a dismal voice.

"Remove your left shoe," Darkwing repeated in the same tone.

Nodoff still hesitated, so Darkwing decided to take the matter in his own hands. Nodoff pleaded for the masked duck not to do it, but it was already too late. The ghoul's left foot was exposed. It was so swollen that it didn't look like a normal foot, and an ugly purple and blue bruise covered most of the middle. Darkwing did not give any reaction, but he was inwardly mortified at the sight, compared to Launchpad and Morgana who reacted with utmost shock.

" _What_ happened to your foot?!" Morgana demanded to know.

Nodoff's ears drooped heavily. Surely, but reluctantly, he told the witch that he was chasing Eek and Squeek who took his favorite hour glass before losing his footing and falling down the stairs. Morgana was mortified. As for Nodoff, he was starting to feel some anger boiling inside him from all the stares he had to endure.

" _Why_ didn't you say anything to me sooner?!"

 _That_ did it! Without warning, Nodoff's anger exploded like Mount Vesuvius. An array of non-stop cursing escaped the ghoul's mouth, attracting all kinds of unwanted attention from passer-bys on the street. And all three ducks had to endure the embarrassment.

* * *

Morgana rushed the ghoul to the upstairs attic, she had him draped over her shoulder. She asked both Launchpad and Darkwing to find a doctor while she attended to Nodoff's injury. Eek and Squeek finally told her what had happened, Morgana was pissed off at them for not reporting this to her immediately. Nevertheless, she commanded them to bring up a large roll of gauze and a pack of ice. Morgana could see that Nodoff had twisted his foot pretty badly, and strongly emphasized that he was not allowed to walk on it at all. The ghoul was greatly embarrassed having to be carried like a child, let alone the fact that he had put himself and everyone else on the spot earlier for cursing so vehemently at the three ducks. He would hear no end to Morgana's lectures on how stupid he was for not reporting his injury sooner. Forget the fact that _she_ was the one who wanted him to stop complaining over the petty things!

Morgana placed Nodoff gently on the bed, which surprised the ghoul. He was half-expecting to be thrown on it. Morgana sat next to him, raised his foot and rested it on her lap. Eek dropped the pack of ice right by her side, while Squeek placed the roll of gauze by her feet.

"Brace yourself, Nodoff," the witch replied in a firm but gentle voice as she examined the swollen foot with the bluish-purple bruise. "This is going to hurt a little."

Morgana gave his foot gentle pinches, Nodoff winced and inhaled through gritted teeth. The pain was so unbearable, Nodoff covered his face with his hands. He had never been injured before in his whole life, and now this witch was touching the very spot that hurt the most! How much more could he take of this?! Morgana gently applied the ice pack to bring down the swelling, resting it in the exact spot where the swollen area was. As soon as he felt the cold numbing feeling soothe his foot a little, Nodoff began to uncover his face. He watched as the witch ever so delicately dabbed the ice pack, sighing as the coolness brought relief even if it was only temporary. She also added a touch of sorcery to the injured foot. Her healing spells weren't advanced enough to completely cure the injury, but it did help for the most part. Morgana bandaged his foot with the gauze, leaving only his heal, half the ball of his foot, and the toes exposed for air. Then Morgana gave the sides of his foot gentle pats before removing it from her lap and placing a cylinder-shaped pillow underneath to keep it elevated.

"The next time you walk, you'll need to use crutches," Morgana informed him. "But for now, just rest."

Nodoff's ears drooped heavily as he turned his gaze away. _Rest, rest_ ... That's all he ever wanted ever since he got stuck in this damn world. That was _all_ he ever wanted ever since he was a very young ghoul, under the thumb of his overly dominant demon father. He just wanted _rest_. Morgana was about to raise herself back to a standing position ... until she heard the sound of weeping. She turned to look at Nodoff, tears rolled down his orange eyes like faucets.

"What did I tell you about _crying_?!" Morgana said tersely.

"It ... won't stop," Nodoff replied, covering his face in shame under his left arm. "I ... don't know how ... to make it stop ..."

If Morgana wasn't such a compassionate soul as Nodoff once addressed her, she would've assumed he was trying to con her. But she took one good look at Nodoff's body language. He trembled from within ... she knew that look, it was hurt. Nodoff was deeply hurt, and it wasn't because he had injured his foot. It was the look of homesickness. He was missing his home in Dream World so much. An expression of pity appeared on Morgana's face and she shook her head. What was she to do with this ghoul? She passed him a couple of tissues to dry his eyes, she thought she would have to _charge_ him for tissues. She couldn't stand to see him suffer like this. She couldn't stand to see a _grown_ ghoul _cry_. Before she knew what she was doing, Morgana stroked Nodoff's wet cheeks with the back of her hand. He was beginning to burn up, was he getting sick too?

In response to her touch, Nodoff wrapped his arms around Morgana's waist and hugged her fiercely. Morgana would've pried the ghoul off her in disgust any other time of day, but now was not the time to resort to such foolishness. Instead, she allowed her better judgment to guide her her arms around him, returning a fierce hug of her own. There was no need to punish the ghoul for anything this time. Nodoff was very needy right now.

As he held himself firmly against the witch, Nodoff could feel her hand rubbing his back while her other hand continued to stroke his cheeks. Why was she rubbing his back so gently? Was he being treated like a cat again? Nodoff didn't know what was happening to him right now, but he was just too tired to fight. He had no desire to ... and Morgana's touches felt so _motherly_ right now.

Yes, _that_ was the word. _Motherly_. Nodoff never had a mother before ... Well, _if_ he did, his father never mentioned her. Everyday was a living nightmare with his father around. He was always overworked until he was barely able to function ... and yet his father _still_ demanded more. Then one day, his father disappeared ... and Nodoff was all alone. But the memories of his father still haunted him. He lived his whole life as if he were still under his father's tyranny. To no end, Nodoff would joke and laugh as if it would be the last time he would ever have a chance to. Then he started developing an interest in the female species, before he knew it, he emulated his father's vices and these girls became his slaves. Then he had met Morgana, who happened to be a student of magic, he saw potential in her, but as he did with the others, she _too_ became his slave. And then there was the plan of putting St. Canard to sleep ... and the rest was history ...

But now ... Nodoff didn't find the whole ordeal fun anymore. He was bored with it all. Right now, Morgana's gestures were the only things he could derive comfort from. _Comfort_ ... Nodoff _liked_ comfort ... and he _liked_ how Morgana held him right now. He liked the feel of his back being rubbed while his tear-stained cheeks were stroked. He allowed the comfort of Morgana's touch to envelope his heart.

"Don't go," Nodoff uttered in a breathy tone.

"I won't," Morgana replied in a soft voice. " _Trust_ me, Nodoff. I'll stay right here."

As she held the grief-stricken ghoul in her arms, Nodoff began to confide to her that he was having vicious nightmares whenever he went to sleep. It was the reason why he was always so slow at doing simple tasks. It wasn't that he couldn't do them, he was just too exhausted to concentrate. He did not have many good night sleeps ever since he was stuck here. All of his nightmares revolved around his dominant demon father. The ghoul also told her about the scary image he had seen on the TV screen the day he had that mishap with the laundry. That face reminded him too much of his father and all the misery he had put poor Nodoff through. Morgana sighed inwardly with pity as she listened to Nodoff's tale. It all suddenly began to make sense why Nodoff was doing the things that she and Darkwing despised the most. It wasn't because he didn't know what he was doing. He _knew_ what he was doing was wrong, but he didn't know _why_ he was doing it. He didn't know _how_ to correct it because no one had taught him that there were limits to everything. He was given free reign to do as he wished, but he wasn't well disciplined in how to control his own powers.

"Darkwing and Launchpad went to find a doctor, Nodoff," Morgana was the first to break the silence. "Since you're obviously in no condition to step outside right now, they're going to try to get him to come here." Morgana paused for a minute and leaned forward to take something out of the top drawer. Although tears flowed down his face, Nodoff's orange eyes followed Morgana's movements. She pulled out what looked like a toy with a base and a half moon, half-sun face that rested on it. Underneath the base was a wind-up knob.

" _This_ is something my father used to play for me whenever I couldn't go to sleep," Morgana assured Nodoff. "I have no doubt it will help you too."

Nodoff watched curiously as the witch wound up the toy until she could turn the golden knob no further. A gentle, tinkling sound emitted from the strange-looking toy, it seemed to be playing some kind of song. The ghoul listened to it with intent curiosity. Pleasant images flooded the ghoul's head, he had imagined that he was on his cloud bed again. His orange eyes began to feel heavy, the sound of the tinkling music began to soothe him. Morgana had also used a touch of her magic to give Nodoff the pleasant imagery when she touched the back of his head with her palm. Within seconds, Nodoff's body slumped in Morgana's arms. She gently lowered the ghoul down, carefully positioning his head on the pillow and smoothed a piece of his blue hair away from his eyes. The ghoul now looked like a little child, sleeping peacefully as if he didn't have a care in the world.

"Pleasant dreams, Nodoff," Morgana whispered as she covered the rest of Nodoff's body with the blanket. "You'll find your Dream World soon enough."


	9. Nodoff has FEELINGS!

**Chapter 9:** ** _Nodoff Has FEELINGS?!_**

Darkwing and Launchpad returned to the MacCawber Manor with Dr. Sarah Bellum. The dark-haired lady with glasses took one good look at the ghoul who was now awake and feeling quite refreshed from a peaceful nap. She wasn't the least bit fazed by Nodoff's appearance, but then again almost _nothing_ seemed to faze Dr. Sarah Bellum. She brought a fair amount of equipment with her, usually such cases required an X-ray to have a better look at the injured foot. But the lady doctor was very well trained that she didn't need an X-ray to know what was going on. She slowly removed the gauze that was wrapped around Nodoff's left foot and, as Morgana did earlier, she gently pressed the tender area to get a better idea how serious the injury was. Nodoff winced only a little and felt a bit awkward since he had never seen the strange lady doctor before. But Dr. Bellum had talked to Nodoff, letting him know _exactly_ what she was doing before she would do it. And her voice sounded kind enough, putting the ghoul's mind at ease.

After she had finished, Dr. Bellum wrapped Nodoff's foot with a fresh set of gauze, then pulled out a bottle of inflammatory pain medicine and placed it on the bureau next to the bed. She asked one of the other three ducks to bring up a glass of water, Launchpad was the one to volunteer. It didn't take long for him to return with it. He handed the glass to Dr. Bellum, who told Nodoff to take the medicine with the glass of water. Nodoff found this ordeal a little unusual, since he had never taken any kind of drug in his whole life. But he did as the doctor ordered without a fuss.

"I want _you_ to take one of these a day with food," Dr. Bellum ordered. "Don't put any weight on it for a few weeks and have someone around to help you _at all times_. I placed some crutches by your bedside to help you walk."

* * *

The three ducks alternated between each other in taking turns to baby sit Nodoff. Well, it was mostly between Darkwing Duck and Launchpad. Darkwing felt that Morgana needed a break from the ghoul, even though she insisted on helping. Since the ghoul saw Morgana the most, the chances of him being very clingy to the witch were too great a risk. It wasn't fair to Morgana, and it wasn't fair to Nodoff either. Besides, the ghoul needed to get used to being around other people ... at least while he still remained here in St. Canard. When Nodoff inquired where Morgana was, either Darkwing or Launchpad would simply tell him that Morgana was _busy preparing food in the kitchen_. It struck the ghoul as rather odd, Morgana rarely cooked at all except for small things. And she was a _lousy_ cook to begin with, the thought of her cooking anything made Nodoff smirk under his breath. But the ruse wasn't really that far from the truth. While Darkwing was on watch duty with Nodoff, Launchpad was helping Morgana to learn how to cook. It wasn't really his decision since he didn't _fully trust_ the witch to begin with, but after Darkwing convinced him that Morgana really wasn't that bad, Launchpad submitted to the duck's request. Besides, Launchpad felt that the woman needed to do some _real_ work anyway, not those shady business deals she was a part of during that _mushroom_ fiasco.

While on watch duty, Darkwing did not say much to Nodoff nor did Nodoff say much to Darkwing. The silence was a bit awkward, the ghoul was half expecting to be cross-examined by the masked duck. While Darkwing sat on a stool and read the newspaper, Nodoff was looking at a non-fiction picture book of planets he had found in one of the drawers. He must have looked at it a hundred times, but he paid more attention to the pictures than the actual writing. Nodoff was able to read, but he found the style of the author's writing rather boring, thus he allowed himself to be mesmerized by the pictures. And why not. The planets were the one of the only things here in this world that reminded him of home. From the corner of his eye, Darkwing noticed the ghoul gazing bleary-eyed at the book. He was tempted to ask what Nodoff was reading, but his attention was split on the latest crime investigation article in the newspaper. One article read that an office employee nearly passed out in the hallway and was rushed to the hospital. The guy lived, but he described to the doctors that he was overwhelmed with the scent of too much bleach that it was making him nauseous. _Hmm ... sounds like Ammonia Pine's doing,_ the masked duck thought.

Nodoff put his book down temporarily on his lap and noticed the intense focus in Darkwing's eyes as the duck read the papers. The ghoul was the first to break the silence. "So, why did you lie for me?"

"Hm?" Darkwing blinked in confusion as he put the newspaper down. "What are you talking about?"

"When you said I was a _handyman from the country_ ," Nodoff told the duck. "That night, I was cleaning Morgana's manor from the outside."

"Oh _, that_!" Darkwing realized after the ghoul rephrased that line. "I was trying to protect you."

The ghoul cocked an eyebrow in disbelief. "Protect _me_? From _what_?"

"From the neighbors, of course," Darkwing answered matter-of-factly. "They _were_ pretty angry with you for making too much noise. When people here get angry, they _never_ let it go. They'll throw things at you until you get seriously injured."

Nodoff's ears wiggled inquisitively. "Why couldn't you just tell them the truth?"

It was now Darkwing's turn to cock an eyebrow at the ghoul. "Tell them you're an _all-powerful demon_ from a place called _Dream World_?! They wouldn't believe me if I did. And they wouldn't have believed _you_ either if you had said something."

"Why _wouldn't_ they believe it?" Nodoff asked, a puzzled expression on his face. "Dream World _does_ exist."

"But _they_ don't know that," Darkwing replied. "Besides, people here see only what they _want_ to see. You need hardcore evidence to prove your some magical being, and _you_ can't use your magical powers here."

Nodoff heaved a sigh of defeat. How was he going to tackle this? The ghoul tried a different approach. "I _know_ you _hate_ me Darkwing. So, I don't understand _why_ you would bother to ..." Nodoff's voice trailed off.

"To what?" Darkwing replied.

Nodoff found himself lost in thought as he reflected back on the day Darkwing had brought him to the grocery store and everyone else around them thought Nodoff was a _costumed kid_ and mocked him for it. Darkwing Duck was the only one there who know _what_ Nodoff exactly was, but did _not_ mock him for it. And when Nodoff had injured his foot, it was Darkwing who was the first to notice that the ghoul was in pain ... and Nodoff did _not_ have to say anything. Nodoff placed both hands on his lap and looked at them as if he had never noticed his own hands before. "H-how did you know I was injured?" he asked the duck. "I didn't even _say_ anything."

"You didn't have to," Darkwing pointed out. "I could _see_ it in your face."

Nodoff's ears drooped ever so sheepishly. He always thought Darkwing was just some dim-witted duck playing dress-up. Well, that's what it always looked like through the spying portals of his own Dream World. The ghoul didn't think the duck was really _that_ observant to such details. The _same_ masked duck he mocked, taunted, terrorized ... and yet this _same_ duck took it upon himself to _protect_ Nodoff from other people's scorn, mockery, and anger?

"Is something the matter?" Darkwing replied, taking notice of Nodoff's blatant silence.

The ghoul came out of his stupor. "Nothing," he sighed.

"Are you sure?" Darkwing crossed his arms, giving the ghoul an inquisitive look.

"I ... don't know what to say."

* * *

When it was Launchpad's turn to watch Nodoff, the ghoul had told the pilot what had transpired between him and his partner.

"Yeah, that's D.W. alright," Launchpad replied. " _Always_ looking out for other people."

"But _why_ does he do it?" Nodoff asked.

"It's his _job_ to defend the innocent and fight crime," Launchpad replied. "Even if a person wasn't so innocent, D.W. looks out for that person's well-being too."

Even if a person _wasn't_ so innocent? Once again, Nodoff lowered his head in a sheepish manner. He placed his left hand over his chest, as if to gesture some humble bow. The ghoul didn't know what kind of spell was put on him, but something warm inside was beginning to envelope him. "He's a lot friendlier than _I_ would've been," Nodoff uttered sheepishly.

The pilot did not respond, but his eyes shifted to Nodoff's injured foot. "How's the tootsie, by the way? Not bothering you too much, is it?"

Nodoff blinked in surprise. He wasn't expecting to be asked if he was alright. His orange eyes shifted to his left foot, which was in a cast. He attempted to wiggle his big toe. Yes, it did hurt still, but Nodoff was too engaged in conversation with Darkwing and now Launchpad to have taken notice. He had nearly forgotten that his foot was injured to begin with until Launchpad pointed it out again.

"It hurts a little," Nodoff replied. It hurt a little more than Nodoff cared to admit, but Launchpad's expressed concern about the matter took his focus _off_ the pain. "Am I allowed to walk?"

"Only if you use those crutches Dr. Bellum left you," the pilot pointed out.

Nodoff turned his head to where the crutches sat. "Well ... I could try ..."

Slowly and carefully, the ghoul shifted himself to a sitting position on the bed. He grabbed each crutch with each hand and began hoisting himself to stand. The crutches felt awkward, he took a few steps with them on his un-injured foot until it began to feel natural. He mentioned to Launchpad that he was getting hungry, the pilot told him that supper was just about ready. Launchpad opened the floor door of the attic bedroom, he decided to go ahead of the ghoul first in case Nodoff were to have an another accident with his crutches.

By the time Launchpad and Nodoff descended the stairs to the kitchen, the scent of food slapped both of them in the faces. When they had made their way to the dining room, which looked like a relic from an old horror film, they were greeted with an array of dishes that sat on the table. Nodoff rubbed his eyes with the back of his arm, as if he were trying to wake up from a dream. Was he imagining things? There was large white bowl of garden salad in the center of the table, the vegetables were geometrically arranged. The plate right next to it was honey-smoked ham, thinly sliced, and both were surrounded by bowls with mashed potatoes, corn, medium-grained white rice, salmon fish, and mixed vegetables. The arrangement of the bowls gave the impression of a married couple with children, although Nodoff's orange eyes spotted a misfit bowl on the side, filled with banana-cream pudding with wafer cookies. _Impossible!_ he thought. _Morgana COULDN'T have done all THIS!_ The ghoul was keenly interested in trying that banana pudding, but if Morgana _did_ prepare all this, she would probably get on his case about having the desert first before the meal. So Nodoff resisted the urge, even though it was difficult for him.

Morgana sat at the head chair while Darkwing sat in the chair right next to her. Launchpad assisted Nodoff to the chair right next to Morgana opposite of Darkwing. Launchpad had to help the ghoul up the chair since climbing it would've required him to use both feet, and Nodoff wasn't allowed to put weight on his injured foot for a while. Luckily, the chair was high enough for the ghoul to be able to rest his elbows on the table, if he chose to. The ghoul watched as Launchpad was the one to serve the plates and pass them out. For a moment, Nodoff hesitated and merely watched as Darkwing and Morgana began to eat. Then he took the fork, treating it like a steak knife to break up the bit of sliced ham into pieces. He made a face which gave the impression of someone who was bored, which caught Morgana's attention and she nearly gave him a serious face, as if to say "What?! You don't like my cooking?" Nodoff dropped his fork timidly, realizing the impression he was giving, his ears drooping slightly. In reality, Nodoff wasn't bored, nor did he find the look of the food distasteful. Why he had such an expression on his face was because his mind wandered a lot. The conversations between him, Darkwing, and Launchpad rewound and fast-forwarded in his head like a cassette player. Then his mind got stuck on all the times Morgana rubbed the small of his back with her hand _after_ she had punished him, not to mention all the times she gave him a tissue to wipe away his tears and a glass of water because he had sweated so much. And he began to compare this how his own father treated him. _Not even once_ did his own father make any of the gestures Morgana did _after_ he would get punished. His father, who Nodoff would apologize _profusely_ to whenever the demon's demands were unsatisfied had abandoned his own son when Nodoff needed him the most. But Morgana and her friends _never_ left him behind, even when he was annoying, and they would always provide him options, even when the ghoul didn't like those options. In short, Nodoff realized little by little how badly he behaved, complaining over the pettiest things, sneaking out of the manor to find his Dream World, then embarrassing the ducks by cursing vehemently in public when he attempted to hide his injured foot. And in the end, it was his own _worst enemies_ that ended up _saving his life_. And Nodoff couldn't figure out how to make up for it.

"What's bothering you, little guy?" Launchpad was the first to break the silence.

Nodoff came out of his stupor, noticing that all three ducks gave him a concerned look. "I ... I'm not one for group conversation, I'm afraid," the ghoul replied, "but ... I must admit that ... I'm fascinated by the view." Did the ghoul choose his words correctly? He saw all three ducks exchange confused looks before returning their gazes back to him.

"I _know_ this is very hard for you," Darkwing replied, this time it was _his_ turn to break the silence, "but don't cheat yourself out of a free dinner."

As if on cue with Darkwing pointing at the plate, Nodoff's stomach growled again. The ghoul blushed slightly, before finally taking his first bite of the honey-smoked ham and rice on his place. It didn't take long for him to finish his plate, then he shyly requested if there was enough for a second helping. The first helping he somewhat inhaled because he wanted to quiet down his stomach, so he didn't completely taste the food he was eating, but somehow thought it must've been good since it was actually easy for him to eat it. He slowed down a bit on the second helping to take in the flavor of each and every morsel he had put in his mouth. He enjoyed the taste of the honey-smoked ham because it was sweetened, the mashed potatoes because it was soft, and the rice because it was squishy. The salad was okay, but a bit bland for his tastes bud. However, he was still eyeing that banana-cream pudding with wafer cookies in them. As if reading his mind, Launchpad put some in a small bowl and passed it to Nodoff. After experiencing the first bite with a spoon, the ghoul's orange eyes lit up. The pudding was sweet, rich, creamy ... and the wafer cookies seemed to go great with it! It was like Nodoff was _dreaming_ with his mouth! The ghoul nearly performed a back-handed toss with the spoon before taking the bowl with both hands and eating it.

All three ducks exchanged confused looks once again at this newfound behavior of the ghoul. For a while, they had been so used to Nodoff's tantrums, complaining, and reluctance that it seemed rather peculiar to them that the ghoul would give in so easily to the taste of banana-cream pudding. Morgana began to laugh nervously. Was the ghoul feeling alright?

"Heheheh, _Nodoff_?" the witch nervously chuckled. She knew Nodoff had been feeling homesick, and worried that him being so taken by pudding was a blatant sign of his homesickness. Not to mention, Nodoff used to mock her for her lousy cooking skills. What caused him to change his mind all of a sudden? Morgana rose from her chair approached Nodoff from behind. Nodoff looked up and saw the worried look on Morgana's face, then stopped what he was doing out of sheer embarrassment. Then he felt a gentle pat on his shoulders. "Why don't we go back upstairs and have a little talk?"

Nodoff's ears drooped guiltily and a somewhat dismal look appeared on his face.

"You're not in trouble," Morgana reacted quickly, noticing the embarrassed look on the ghoul's face. "I just want to talk to you upstairs." The witch grabbed a napkin and wiped some of the excess pudding on Nodoff's face. The ghoul didn't know what was going on and he was still embarrassed. If he wasn't in trouble, then what did Morgana want to talk to him about? Morgana slowly helped Nodoff to come down from his seat and handed him his crutches back. Before they would go upstairs, Morgana turned her gaze to Launchpad and Darkwing. "I will re-join you too later. Right now, I must talk to Nodoff alone."

The two ducks said nothing, but nodded to allow Morgana and Nodoff to continue on their way. After watching both of them disappear up the stairs, Darkwing and Launchpad exchanged looks.

"What was that all about?" Launchpad asked curiously.

Darkwing shrugged. "I guess Morgana is worried about the little guy's well being." A concerned expression appeared on the masked duck's face. It was as if he was beginning to _miss_ the conniving, ruthless little nuisance that he had known to be Nodoff. "Quite frankly ... _I'm_ worried too."


	10. Nodoff Finds His Niche

**I thought this would be my last chapter, but it looks like I might have two more chapters following this. I want to thank everyone who followed this story so far, I promise the conclusion to this story will soon come.**

* * *

 **Chapter 10:** ** _Nodoff Finds his Niche_**

"Be there ... something _wrong_?" Nodoff asked, somewhat nervously.

"You're _not_ in trouble, Nodoff!" Morgana repeated herself. "Darkwing and Launchpad were telling me you've been lost in thought. So I want to know what's on your mind."

A breathy giggle escaped Nodoff's throat. Well, it _was_ true! The ghoul _was_ lost in thought. He had been lost in thought ever since he got trapped here. He still greatly missed his Dream World and wanted to go home so badly. But a question recently began to bother Nodoff. _What_ would _happen_ to him once he returned to his Dream World? Many thoughts conflicted in the back of his mind. His first thought was to clean up that spilt pile of Sleep Sand, but then his mind went blank on what he would do _after_ the fact. And then there was the image of Morgana and Darkwing during that fake wedding scene. Morgana was blatantly in love with Darkwing, Nodoff could tell (much to his own jealousy). The ghoul had always been attracted to Morgana for some strange reason, but he could never figure out why. As jealous as he was seeing both Morgana and Darkwing together, he knew he wasn't _in love_ with the witch. And even if he _were_ , it would never be. Nodoff was a demon, Morgana was a duck. But Nodoff had always been alone. He never had any companion and it bothered him more than he dared to admit. So whenever he saw any couple together, it would make him jealous.

And ... there was something else. Although Dream World was a regime without any set standards, there was only only rule that should never be broken: _demons were not allowed to feel anything, otherwise he would surely_ _die_. Nodoff _knew_ this, his own father would never let him forget this. Yet Nodoff detested taking orders from anyone, _including_ his own father. And by focusing all his attention on Morgana and offering Morgana a chance to join him with the promise of providing her the _riches of St. Canard_ , Nodoff was clearly _breaking_ that rule. Hey, _Nodoff_ was the ruler of Dream World now! And his demon father had never returned! So _what_ if he broke this rule?! What was his demon father going to do, reappear out of no where after all these years and kill him?!

"You're _doing_ it again," Morgana pointed out, making Nodoff lose his train of thoughts. " _Be there something wrong_ , Nodoff?"

A corner of Nodoff's mouth quirked up a little; he told her about the rule his demon father would tell him about and asked her if she knew anything about it. Morgana simply crossed her arms, shook her head, and gave him a cock-eyed stare.

"That's a _lie_ ," Morgana said with a hint of defiance in her tone. "If that were true, why are you still alive and sitting here on your bed?"

Nodoff slightly lowered his large ears and shrugged his shoulders.

"I _was_ made aware of that _fake_ rule," Morgana continued. "My own father told me all about it. Demons _claimed_ that rule was made to keep their pupils focused on honing their magical skills and protect them from anything that would distract their progress. But it was that old-school thinking that kept their pupils further behind in everything else, forever to be stuck in that fantasy with no way out. I would've thought _you knew_ more about it since you're _from_ Dream World."

Nodoff gave the witch an embarrassed smile. He didn't know what to say to that. He decided to change the subject. "Well, my mind is still stuck on you _rubbing_ my back _after_ you punished me. _Why_ did you do it?"

Morgana cocked her head back and laugh. The witch couldn't help thinking that the ghoul sounded cute right now. "To prove to you that you were _not_ dying," the witch answered.

Nodoff blinked his orange eyes in surprise. Taking notice of this, Morgana continued.

"Your feeling may have been hurt, Nodoff, but pain like _that_ is _temporary_. Clearly you're sitting down right now, but I suppose you wish to take vengeance on me?"

Before Nodoff had injured himself, he probably would've found some way to take vengeance on Morgana for punishing him. But all the confusion by the unusual gestures each of the three ducks made in his favor had so distracted him that any thoughts of vengeance ( _if_ any) were pushed aside in his head. As Morgana pointed out, the pain Nodoff had felt from the witch's spankings _were temporary_. The ghoul _thought_ he was dying, but by _talking_ to him, by rubbing his back, and by teaching him how to breathe properly, Morgana snapped him out of his stupor. If she hadn't done any of those things, insanity would've taken hold of Nodoff's mind. The ghoul finally responded to Morgana's question. "No."

"Why?" Morgana cocked her head sideways out of curiosity.

"I don't want to," Nodoff replied. "It's no fun."

"Do you honestly think that _inflicting pain_ on others is _fun_?!" Morgana replied, somewhat mockingly at such a stupid idea. "Do you think you can match the _heart pains_ and _nerve damage_ that _I've_ had to endure?!"

To that, Nodoff blinked in confusion. What was the witch talking about?! Morgana took notice and began a demonstration by picking up a small vase with her both her hands, when suddenly her left arm performed some unusual twitch, causing her to lose grip on the vase and dropping on to the floor, breaking into pieces. Morgana knelt down to sweep up the pieces with a hand broom, but once again, her left arm performed an unusual twitch, causing the hand broom to clumsily drop from her hand. She turned her head to Nodoff and gave him a somewhat sour expression, just before displaying her left arm, which now began to tremble uncontrollably. " _See_ what I mean, Nodoff?" Morgana pointed out. "This is what years of servitude to _your_ expectations have caused me!"

The ghoul turned his head away slightly. The last thing he remembered was he used to jump-scare Morgana for fun. It was his way of testing her. Nodoff counted in his head how many times he would scare Morgana because he was bored, plagued her head with nightmarish visions, then grew in size for the ultimate terror. But he was so caught up in the fun of it all! Did he ... really hurt her _that_ much? Nodoff returned his gaze to Morgana. Before he could stop it, tears began to trickle down his cheeks. The ghoul slowly lifted his right hand to point as he sniffled and spoke in a small voice. " _I_ did _that_?"

Morgana nodded. " _Yes, you did_. And you also did _this_." The witch lifted her dress to show the ghoul that her left leg not only trembled as badly as her left arm, but that there was also a burn mark that ranged from her left thigh to her ankle. Nodoff's jaw dropped in shock. _When_ did he do _that_? As if to read his mind, Morgana began to answer for him. "In case you don't remember, Nodoff, you once used your magic and made me your dancing puppet. While you were having such a _good time_ , toying with your spells, I _waltzed_ near a burning fire place and got part of my dress singed. A dress I could've dismissed as if nothing happened, but _no_! My entire left leg got singed too! I used all the magic I could to have this healed, but it left a permanent scar. And unlike in the dream world, magic has _limits_."

Nodoff's shoulders hunched guiltily as he lowered his head. " _Oh_."

" _Exactly_ ," Morgana agreed. "Do you _still_ think it's _fun_?"

Tears continued to trickle down his cheeks upon the realization of the damage his fun had caused Morgana. He had really hurt the woman. He hurt her really badly, and he had hurt everyone around him. It was all making sense to him now. The endless chores, the punishments, his own self-inflicted injury, and the embarrassment he endured from the seemingly clueless citizens of St. Canard ... All were motivated by a false belief that the world fits into this _one mold_. The world did not work that way. Dream World was an old relic of the past, clinging onto foolish fancy, while the Real World was filled with people who just want to feel like they have _purpose_ in their lives. And all the while Nodoff thought that Morgana was torturing him. She was actually quite merciful to him, in spite of what he did to her. As she had once said, if such acts were committed during the Dark Ages, he would've been put to death for it. He realized this now ... and it made him feel deeply ashamed. "I didn't know," he uttered in a small voice.

"What you mean is you _didn't want to know,_ " Morgana replied, her tone somewhat cold.

Nodoff began to lift his head up to look at the witch. Then he threw his arms around her waist, taking the witch by surprise. "I'm _sorry_."

 _What_?! Did Nodoff just say he was _sorry_? Now _this_ was curious. The last time Morgana demanded such a thing from him, the ghoul blatantly _refused_ to say the word. "Sorry for _what_?" Morgana asked. Why the witch asked such a question was because she needed to know whether Nodoff was sorry because of what he did, or if he was only saying that because that was what she _wanted_ to hear.

"I'm sorry that I hurt you," Nodoff replied. "When I get bored, I ... I go crazy. I'm ... not so great at being good."

Morgana closed her eyes serenely, as if some heavy burden had been removed from her chest. One look at the ghoul right now was enough proof to Morgana that Nodoff really was sorry for what he did. Though a part of her still could not believe someone Nodoff's size could produce that much water. "Believe it or not, Nodoff, that's the _first_ step to being good." Morgana sat next to Nodoff and rubbed his back, a sign to the ghoul that the witch forgave him, before wrapped her arms around him to return his hug back. A sense of comfort overwhelmed Nodoff's heart, but this time he decided to _allow_ himself that. Morgana wiped the ghoul's tears with the back of her hand. He thanked Morgana for giving him the hug the other night. In turn, the witch handed him another tissue and continued to rub his back.

Nodoff slowly pulled himself away to dry his own eyes before speaking to Morgana in a small voice. "Morgana?"

"What is it, Nodoff?" Morgana replied.

"Will you and your friends _help_ me?"

"Help you with what?" the witch asked.

"To do better ... in _this_ world," Nodoff replied, " _before_ I return to Dream World?"

Morgana sighed. "We will support you in any way we can. But it all depends on you, Nodoff." The witch had mixed feelings about Nodoff's request. He sounded very sincere in his request and wanted to believe it, now that she had seen the ghoul's penitence with her own eyes. But it still didn't take away from the fact that Nodoff's reputation still preceded him. Since the creature was practically a demon, and demons by nature were not known to keep their word, chances of Nodoff regressing back to old bad habits were still very high. But somehow, she had a feeling that Nodoff must've thought about this. Otherwise, why would he bother to ask her and her friends for help? His next response confirmed her thoughts.

"I ... want to tell you that _you have my word_ that I shall never cause trouble again, but ... I'm afraid my nature would have me do otherwise. That's why I need your help."

Morgana didn't say a word but motioned for Nodoff to rise up and follow her back downstairs. Nodoff took it as a sign that his test in this world was about to begin. As he followed the witch downstairs on his crutches, his mind began to dwell on that newspaper Darkwing had read earlier. Clearly, the ghoul was in no condition to go with Darkwing on one of his cases, it would be too much of a burden for the masked duck to handle. But if there were something about the case that involved some kind of tactic to outsmart Darkwing's opponent, Nodoff was very confident that he would be useful to the duck's mission. After all, it was Nodoff who pried into the duck's nightmares when he was bored. Although the ghoul didn't see the contents of the paper that Darkwing read, Nodoff was pretty sure he knew which opponent Darkwing was dealing with.


	11. A Visitor From Dream World

**Chapter 11: _A Visitor from Dream World_**

Both Morgana and Nodoff had resumed their dinner with Darkwing and Launchpad. The witch assured the two ducks that Nodoff was alright and just really liked the taste of the banana-cream pudding. Nodoff mentioned that the colors of the banana-cream pudding and the round shape of the wafer cookies reminded him of the Moon and the sparkling sand in Dream World, which was what attracted his attention to the pudding to begin with. The two ducks both nodded, their curiosity was satisfied. Of course, Darkwing knew better that Nodoff was just homesick. That bit about the pudding reminding him of sparkling sand and the Moon were too obvious.

The next week, Darkwing had spent some time discussing the Ammonia Pine case with Launchpad. Nodoff was listening intently as he had descended the stairs. Going down the stairs had become a scary thing ever since the ghoul had fallen and injured himself. Sometimes, he was confident enough to go down with the crutches, other times panic would overwhelm him so much that he would situate himself in a sitting position at the top then slowly slid down step by step, like a child, while his left leg was extended out in front. Either way, he was able to make it down the stairs without causing himself any further injuries. But as for the Ammonia Pine case, it all sounded as if Darkwing had everything under control as far as how to outwit his opponent. It saddened Nodoff a little that there was no opportunity for him to offer his services. The ghoul must've greatly underestimated the masked duck's abilities. So Nodoff would use what time he had to see if any chores in the house needed to be taken care of (as in chores where his crutches wouldn't get in the way).

Surprisingly, Nodoff had not seen or heard from Eek or Squeek ever since he had this injury. Trying to hide from the ghoul's sight out of guilt, no doubt. Not that Nodoff would've sought vengeance on them even if he wanted to. Strangely enough, Nodoff was missing their company. As annoying as those two bats were, they tried to help the ghoul, even when he wasn't nice to them. And speaking of the little devils, Nodoff heard squeaking and chirping just above his head. Eek and Squeek had descended from the ceiling and landed onto Nodoff's lap. Archie, Morgana's pet spider, also descended from the same ceiling, hanging from a string of webbing. All three stared at Nodoff with a hint of guilt in their eyes as if to beg for the ghoul's forgiveness. The ghoul's orange eyes narrowed to slits at the sight of all three of them.

"You _know_ I'm _not_ the _warm and fuzzy_ type," Nodoff replied, making a fist with his left hand. Both bats' and the spider's eyes widened in fright upon gazing at the ghoul's fist. They closed their eyes, anticipating some kind of blow to come upon them. But then Nodoff's orange stare softened and his fist loosened until he was resting his cheek against his palm. "But ... it hasn't been the same without you three around to pester me."

Eek, Squeek, and Archie were surprised to hear this. They opened their eyes to see that Nodoff had extended his right arm with an open palm rested on his lap. Clearly he was implying that one of the three volunteer to hop onto his palm. Eek, Squeek, and Archie exchanged hesitant looks. Was Nodoff opening himself up to make friends with them? Or ... was this another one of his old _tricks_? The ghoul took notice of this and replied, "If coming to me is a problem, then I will come to you." With that said, Nodoff scooped Archie up with his right hand, taking the spider by surprise. Nodoff placed Archie on his right shoulder to rest there. The ghoul gently patted Archie on the back while Eek and Squeek fluttered and rested on his opposite shoulder. Nodoff turned his gaze to Archie first. "I hope _you're_ not still mad at me for breaking your web, are you?"

Archie responded with a few grumbles before he threw his arms/legs (with a spider, who could tell the difference?) around Nodoff's neck. As for the two bats, Eek and Squeek rubbed their cheeks against the ghoul's left cheek to express affection. Nodoff's orange eyes shifted to met their gazes. "As for you two, I never properly thanked you for helping me with the laundry that day." With that said, the ghoul shifted his hand from Archie to gently pat the two bats on the head. All three of them descended back on his lap to look up at him. They noticed that the ghoul's orange eyes looked watery, as if he was going to cry. "I wish ... I wish I could hug all three of you, but I'm afraid I'll crush you with my arms. I don't know how to make up for the way that I treated you." A modest set of teardrops fell down Nodoff's cheeks, he brushed them away with the back of his hand. Eek grabbed a tissue from the tissue box next to the couch and handed it to the ghoul. Nodoff accepted the tissue and blew his nose. Then he let out a breathy chuckle as he rolled his eyes. "God, I really owe Morgana some tissues."

A knock on the door took all four by surprise. Nodoff gave Eek, Squeek, and Archie a confused look. "Was Morgana expecting company?"

The two bats and the spider all shrugged. That was odd. Nodoff knew it was neither Darkwing nor Launchpad. They left to attend to that Ammonia Pine case not too long ago. Curiosity got the better of him as Nodoff rose to his crutches and hobbled to the door. The ghoul attempted to turn the knob until a thought dawned on him. What if whoever was on the other side of the door decided to push him/herself forward, causing the door to swing in _his_ direction? It had been six weeks in counting ever since Nodoff had been in St. Canard, yet he still had a tendency to forget that _unlike_ Dream World, the Real World had limitations. Sometimes the ghoul found it hard to believe that he kept forgetting this simple fact. Not to mention that most people in St. Canard were unfriendly and _unwilling to let go_ as Darkwing once put it. To play it safe, Nodoff stepped to the side of the door so that he wouldn't be in its way when it would open. He did not turn the knob just yet but waited until he heard another knock. There wasn't any. Maybe it was someone trying to sell something? He did recall overhearing a conversation between Darkwing and Morgana that sometimes salesmen would come to doors trying to sell stuff that people don't want or need. However, Nodoff found the idea of a salesman to come to a place like MacCawber Manor quite ludicrous. Most people would've been too scared by the mansion's dark appearance, that was why Morgana never had any remodeling done to it.

"Is this the residence of Morgana MacCawber?" came a woman's voice.

Nodoff blinked from his stupor. There was a lady at the door? What lady would come to a place like MacCawber Manor? But the sound of the woman's voice seemed safe enough, so Nodoff mustered all his courage and turned the knob. He opened the door a crack and peeped through the opened slit. To his surprise, he was greeted by the scent of lavender ... and an image of something he didn't expect to see. A pair of yellow eyes with thick, fringed eyelashes blinked right back at him, which took the ghoul by such surprise that he almost fell backwards. He regained balance with his crutches and caught his breath.

A pink hand with a wrist bangled in six bracelets with hot pink stones pushed the door open further. When Nodoff was able to get a better look at the visitor. Those yellow eyes belonged to a strange, yet lovely female ghoul slightly shorter than Nodoff whose hot pink, 80's style hair fell to her ankles. She was dressed in a black shirt, black pants, and black boots. She wore a black hat on her head which was shaped like a policeman's cap, and even bore a silver badge in the center. Nodoff knew she was not a real police officer, not the way the collar of her black shirt exposed a hint of cleavage. A real police officer here in St. Canard (even a female) wouldn't be caught dead wearing such a thing. The ghoul also wore earrings that matched her bracelets, her ears were just as long as Nodoff's, except they were wider and gremlin-like. Although her yellow eyes looked large and expressive, her whole face was small and round, as well as her nose and mouth.

"I hope I didn't come at a bad time," the female ghoul replied.

Upon looking at the female ghoul's manner of dress, Nodoff would've expected her to have a sassy, edgy, and blunt demeanor. But this creature's voice was like a breeze on a Spring morning: soft, sweet, and soothing. Although Nodoff was generally nervous around strangers, especially the kinds that dress weird, something about this girl's voice urged him to talk to her. "You said you were looking for Morgana," Nodoff replied, "but she's asleep. Be there something _I_ can help you with?"

The female ghoul did not reply but entered the room and gently closed the door behind her. She stood in front of Nodoff and examined him from head to toe before she extended her hand to him. "My name is Yutopia. What is yours?"

Normally, Nodoff would've questioned the stranger further since she technically did not answer his last question and practically invited herself in rather than wait for Nodoff to welcome her in. But the fact that she mentioned the name Morgana and because he was so taken by her voice and demureness that he overlooked all that. "I am Nodoff," the ghoul replied. He wanted to add that he was the ruler of Dream World, but since his mishap with the neighbors when he was made to clean the outside of the mansion, he didn't mention that part.

"I was hired by Morgana to help with housecleaning," Yutopia replied, finally answering Nodoff's previous question. "She said her current servant needed help because he was wounded."

That last part nearly made Nodoff wince. _Morgana's current servant_? He was _not_ a _servant_! He was the ruler of Dream World! And he wasn't _wounded_ , he was _injured_! If Morgana's serious talks with him about _not owing Nodoff anything_ did not echo in the back of his mind, he would've been greatly insulted and protest to no return! But Nodoff knew better than to fight with Morgana in her domain, so he simply kept his mouth shut. He definitely did not want a repeat of her anger, nor did he want to engage in any war with her, not after seeing the damage he had already done to the witch.

"Are you alright?" Yutopia asked, scratching her head curiously.

Nodoff's train of thought was broken when he noticed Yutopia giving him a concerned look. The ghoul's large ears lowered slightly. "I've seen better days," Nodoff sighed, "but, I get by. May I offer you a drink of water?"

"Yes, please," Yutopia replied, removing her police hat and placing it on the table next to the couch. Nodoff closed the door and re-locked it after the female ghoul situated herself on the couch. Nodoff hobbled his way to the refrigerator to grab the pitcher of water. He placed one crutch next to the left side of the refrigerator so he would have a free hand to open the door and grab the water pitcher. He was able to do both tasks with ease and brought the pitcher to the table. He made a second trip to fetch a drinking glass, placed it on the table, then went back to the refrigerator to retrieve the other crutch. It felt weird have to go back and forth three times, but Nodoff didn't know any better way to do it without protecting his injured foot. He was still taking the pain medication Dr. Bellum prescribed him as directed, of course he was not used to having to take medication on a daily basis (or any kind medicine at all) and he would have short bursts of energy only to feel sluggish three seconds later. But the medication seemed to be working and his foot didn't hurt as much as the day he injured it, although pain lingered still. But he learned that as long as he didn't focus on the pain too much, he would have a speedy recovery.

Finally, Nodoff had a chance to sit back down and put his crutches aside, it sometimes was a bit uncomfortable and annoying having to be poked under the arm by some _fancy stick._ The ghoul poured water into the drinking glass, then passed it to Yutopia. "I confess that these crutches slow me down. Hopefully I didn't bore you too much for _beating around the bush_."

"Not at all," Yutopia replied before taking a sip of her water. She noticed that Nodoff was looking the other way, avoiding her gaze. She also saw that he toyed with one crutch held in his left hand. Out of boredom, no doubt. But that kind of behavior puzzled Yutopia. Why would the ghoul toy with an object out of boredom when he had someone sitting next to him to talk to? "How did you hurt your left foot?"

Nodoff suddenly turned his gaze to meet Yutopia's. He hesitated for a bit, his ears slightly lowered. "By being _stupid_ ," the ghoul replied with a hint of embarrassment in his tone. "I ... ran down the stairs and fell." As Nodoff described in detail how he had injured himself and how he managed to hide it, Yutopia was shocked at the idea of someone hiding an injury and practically agreed that it _was_ stupid of Nodoff to do such a thing and asked him why he did that. The ghoul felt as if he were put on the spot, unable to answer that question. _I_ s _hould've kept my mouth shut ..._

"You know hiding an injury only makes it _worse_ ," Yutopia pointed out.

"Hey, I was-" Nodoff's voice trailed off. He meant to say that he was afraid of being punished by Morgana, but he wasn't totally comfortable sharing that information with the female ghoul just yet.

"You were _what_?" Yutopia urged Nodoff to continue.

Nodoff gulped nervously. He had to think of something fast. "I ... never injured myself before, and I panicked! I was ... embarrassed by it, I ..." The ghoul's face turned red from embarrassment and his ears drooped, "... I wasn't trying to cause any trouble ... I'm ... I'm sorry ..."

Yutopia cocked her head to one side. "Well, I want _you_ to take it easy. You mustn't over-exert yourself."

Nodoff rolled his eyes. "I know, but I'm _bored_! I've been looking at picture books, reading books, all different kinds of books, and walking around when I can, but it's not enough! I want to _do_ something and walking on these crutches is driving me _mad_!"

Yutopia blinked in surprise at Nodoff's sudden outburst. Nodoff immediately covered his mouth after realizing that he had been shouting. Nevertheless, Yutopia smiled and patted Nodoff on his right shoulder. "And that's where _I_ come in."

Nodoff eyes nearly popped out at that last remark. What did she mean by that?

"By the way," Yutopia continued, "thanks for the water."

"Oh," Nodoff replied, slightly shrugging his shoulders. "Don't mention it."

* * *

Another week had passed since the arrival of Yutopia. Nodoff learned that Yutopia was a dweller of Dream World, much to the ghoul's surprise because he never recalled seeing her before in his life. Unlike Nodoff, who was the _monarch_ of Dream World, Yutopia was considered a low-level ghoul. It surprised Nodoff because he was under the impression by her outfit that she was someone of royalty trying to blend in with the common folk. Her unusual black outfit and jewelry that she wore were not her usual wear. What she normally wore was a medium gray dress and would run bare foot to and fro. The outfit she found at a salvation army in St. Canard, which was in like new condition but was about to be thrown away because surprisingly no one would buy it. Yutopia happened to come by there one day, one of the workers thought she was a costumed kid, thought she would look cute in it, and gave it to her free of charge. As for the jewelry she wore, it was all fake. They were part of a toy accessory kit designed for little girls, but since Yutopia was small enough, it didn't make a difference to her. And that kit came with the black outfit, so it made a perfect disguise to walk the streets of St. Canard.

As to how and why she came here, it was Eek and Squeek who decided to open the door to Dream World when everyone else was asleep. They were surprised to find that Dream World, which was dismal looking at best, turned into a chaotic inferno where many demons were on the loose. With no ruler present to keep things under control, Dream World was a traffic jam of flying demons. Among the crowd, Eek and Squeek had spotted a pink-skinned ghoul dressed in gray in the midst of it all, looking really flustered. She had attempted to use her magic to keep things under control, but since she was only a low-level ghoul, her magic wasn't strong enough. The two bats quickly led her to the door back to the Real World, where she would temporarily be safe for the time being. By the time they had returned, Morgana had woken up in the middle of the night to get a drink of water, when she happened to spot the female ghoul who was barely catching her breath from the whole ordeal. She confided in Morgana that her name was Yutopia and told her what had been happening to Dream World ever since it's ruler had gone missing. Although Morgana had never seen her before, she looked very harmless, and told her that the ruler of Dream World was here at MacCawber Manor. Yutopia wasn't hired as a cleaning lady as she had claimed. It was a ruse arranged by her and Morgana because Yutopia had some old score to settle with Nodoff. She planned to get as much information out of Nodoff as possible in case he were to plot another mischievous event. But Morgana assured Yutopia that chances of Nodoff plotting anything was unlikely since being stuck here in St. Canard was punishment enough and insisted that Yutopia should _treat him gently_. But Yutopia had no intention of hurting him. Her idea was to feign ignorance by striking idle chat to get the ghoul to open up ... until it was time to make her move.

"Don't worry, Morgana," Yutopia confided. "It's not _that_ kind of a score. I'm very sure that Nodoff will eventually warm up to me."


	12. The History of Dream World

**The character Yutopia, who was introduced in the last chapter, was inspired by a fan art on deviantArt of an OC called "Dreama," by Fun-Time-is-Party-Time** **, who was a creature responsible for creating good dreams, opposite of Nodoff who created nightmares. Yutopia has a similar role, except I decided to make her appearance and her tactical approach a little different. As you may have guessed, the name "Yutopia" is a play on the word "Utopia," which means "perfect world," just as "Nodoff" is a play on two words "nod off" meaning "to go to sleep." Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 12: _The History of Dream World_**

Nodoff woke up the next morning to the sound of singing in the room. It was coming from Yutopia, who had finished sweeping in the attic bedroom. Normally, the ghoul would've been annoyed and cranky at being woken up by anyone or anything. Of course, how often Nodoff slept in Dream World was very rare. In Dream World, time ran differently from the Real World. For one thing, it was always dark, so there was no day and night cycle. And the concept of the clock in Dream World was a fancy looking object with numbers and springs, which could go forward or backward according to Nodoff's choosing. But here in the Real World, everything was _time sensitive_. Everyone was always stressed out about something, one had to keep up with the pace of the environment (otherwise the person would be left behind), and everyone _had_ to have a _job_ to keep themselves out of trouble (if not, then they get in trouble with the law because they have _too much time_ on their hands). Because of this, Nodoff found himself lacking the energy he once had while he was in Dream World. Before his injury, he detested being made to do chores, not because they were hard to do, but because they were grueling and felt long. Ever since his injury, when Nodoff finally practiced taking initiative on his own to help out, he had been told to _take it easy_ , which was starting to annoy him. Morgana did allow him to walk around the house, but whenever Nodoff asked which chores she or her friends needed help with, he was limited to wiping the tables, light dusting, and laundry (if a second person was around to pass the dirty clothes to him). Even though the ghoul wanted to do more, everything else involved the use of both hands and heavy duty climbing, which he was in no condition to do so.

As for waking up to the sound of Yutopia's voice, Nodoff found it very comforting. He didn't know what song she was singing ... then again, he didn't know _any_ songs at all. What the ruler of Dream World knew about music was mere observation from spying into other people's dreams. But upon hearing Yutopia's voice, it felt as if he were waking up to a beautiful garden. And he had smelled something familiar. It was the scent of lavender ... and it came from Yutopia.

"What song is that?" Nodoff asked inquisitively.

Yutopia stopped what she was doing momentarily to look up at Nodoff. "Something my mother used to sing to me. Does it bother you?"

Nodoff shook his head. "I'm just curious."

"You get _curious_ about a lot of things, don't you?" Yutopia pointed out.

 _That_ caught Nodoff by surprise. He was not expecting a response like that. "Is that _bad_?"

Yutopia didn't respond, but finished up her sweeping. She avoided the ghoul's eye contact, pondering on how to approach this ruler of Dream World. Before she arrived in the Real World, Yutopia had only _heard_ of Nodoff through stories her mother told her ... and most of those stories were unfavorable. According to her mother, the original ruler of Dream World (Nodoff's father) would threaten to take her child away if she did not become his queen. Her mother defied the monarch, and since then the demon gave them no peace. As for the ruler's son, Nodoff, Yutopia's mother used to tell her that she saw the boy change shape into a giant-sized ghoul and would bully the other slave ghouls. Yutopia was little, but she did recall seeing a giant-sized ghoul with blue hair and blue-green skin wearing an orange shirt, black vest, and brown pants. And based on that description alone, she knew that the ghoul in the bedroom right now was the _exact_ same one.

"What songs do you like, Nodoff?"

Nodoff gulped nervously. "I ... hardly know any songs."

"Oh?" Yutopia cocked her head sideways.

"It angered my father when he caught me listening to any kind of song or music," Nodoff told her.

"I see," Yutopia replied and continued her sweeping. "Oh, this is off the subject, Nodoff, but what do you know about the ruler of Dream World?"

Nodoff could scarcely believe what he had just heard. Hasn't this girl figured out yet that _he_ was the ruler of Dream World? But he remembered that he had to keep something like that a secret here in St. Canard. "Well ..." the ghoul began, "... I heard he likes to keep himself occupied."

Yutopia tilted her head back and laughed. "If by occupied you mean being _intrusive_ to other people's dreams and exploiting other people's fears, then you're _right_!"

A stunned expression appeared on Nodoff's face. Had he _overlooked_ something? Somehow, this Yutopia girl was starting to sound like Morgana. And Yutopia wasn't finished.

"I don't know what _your_ opinion is, but I think the ruler of Dream World is a _spoiled brat_! He thinks he's so much better than everyone else and treats others as if they're _expendable_!"

Nodoff's ears drooped guiltily. Yutopia _was_ starting to sound like Morgana. But he had never seen or heard of this girl before, so how did _she_ know about _him_? "Well ... maybe he _doesn't know_ that he's _doing_ it."

"Oh, but I think he does," Yutopia replied with an undertone of warning. "I think he knew _exactly_ what he's doing. He even bullied my own _mother_!"

Nodoff's orange eyes shrunk. Wait a minute! There _was_ a pink-skinned ghoul he did see a long time ago, with hair just like Yutopia's, only thrice as long. The lady also wore a gray dress, which was shredded at the hem, and she always held something tightly to her body. Was it her ...? Yes, it was! The woman had a child ... that child was Yutopia! A nervous giggle escaped Nodoff's throat as he looked at the very spitting image of that pink-skinned, pink-haired ghoul standing right before his presence. "Eheheheh, _wow_! This _ruler of Dream World_ has been _bad_ , hasn't he?"

Yutopia chuckled at the ghoul's response. " _Bad_?! _Bad's_ an _understatement_. Our monarch can't even _mind his own business_! Sometimes I think he needs a _spanking_."

Nodoff's nervous giggle turned into uncontrollable laughter as Yutopia's last comment hit a nerve that the ghoul never knew existed. It may have been because Yutopia spoke the truth and Nodoff _knew_ it. At first, being told simple facts by someone else would've irritated him beyond reason, but something about Yutopia's direct and _to the_ _point_ approach he found hilarious. The female ghoul gave him a strange look as he laughed so hard that his face turned red and tears rolled down his cheeks. "What's so _funny_?!" she asked with a hint of seriousness in her tone.

Nodoff dried his eyes with the back of his hand as he slowly regained his composure. "So sorry ... I couldn't help it. It just _slipped_."

"But seriously, why would the ruler of Dream World _do_ these things?!"

Nodoff didn't respond but became lost in thought. Obviously this Yutopia girl was angry with the _ruler of Dream World_ (which was _him_ of course), but his memory of her and her mother were in fragments. Clearly, he must've hurt this girl in a really bad way, just as he did with Morgana. But Nodoff had been so focused on Morgana that he completely forgotten any other girl student he encountered. He decided to change the subject. "Forgive my _curiousness_ , Yutopia, but would you come with me for a walk?"

Yutopia's yellow eyes blinked in surprise. Why would this ghoul monarch want to walk with a _low-level_ ghoul like herself?! As if to read her mind, Nodoff added another statement. "Why I'm asking is because ... I've been missing my home too much. Hearing the sound of your voice and having you around has been the best thing that has ever happened to me."

A slight blush appeared on Yutopia's pink face, making her appear more pink than ever. She never would've imagined that Nodoff, a spoiled and selfish creature, woukd ever say something like _that_. Although she knew very little of Nodoff, she did remember that Nodoff used to have a maniacal laughter that would _scare_ her very badly (she often hid within her mother's arms when it happened). But now as she had saw him and heard his laughter, something about it was different. Nodoff's laughter sounded as if it was some hearty, cheerful laughter that he had been suppressing it for a long time. It made Yutopia think that maybe this ruler of Dream World just needed a friend. Still, she had to keep on her guard and be very attentive. After all, Nodoff _did_ have a reputation of being conniving and condescending ... _especially_ with the girls. " _Where_ would we be walking to?"

Nodoff hoisted himself to a standing position with his crutches. "There's a park just three blocks away from the manor. I noticed it before I went with Darkwing to the grocery store. It looks pretty quiet there, and no one would bother us."

"Why do you want to go _there_?"

"It's the only place where we don't have to move too fast just to be out of someone's way," Nodoff replied. "Plus, we get the benefit of fresh air."

Yutopia's yellow eyes narrowed slightly with an impressed disposition. If this was one of the ghoul's scams, it was a really damn good one. It sounded as if Nodoff was really being sincere, especially since he was going though all the trouble with his injured foot. And she herself didn't forecast any dangers of going to a park outside only three blocks away from the manor. So maybe going there was a good idea. "When we get there, what do you plan to do?"

Nodoff's orange eyes blinked curiously. That was a good question, he thought. "To be honest with you, I don't have a plan. It's so hard to make plans here without some event derailing them. So, I was just going to play it by ear. I'm sorry if it bothers you."

Yutopia blinked in a surprised demeanor at the ghoul's response. "Oh, not at all. I think going to the park is a wonderful idea. But we should bring some snacks with us in case we get hungry, even if it is only three blocks."

"Fair enough," Nodoff replied with a shrug of his shoulders. "Let's go!"

* * *

Before the two ghouls had left MacCawber Manor, Nodoff had told Morgana where they both would be. He anticipated some questioning by Morgana as to why he wanted to go there, surprisingly she didn't ask much, only told them both to be cautious. Yutopia grabbed a handful of snacks and placed them in a small black bag, which matched her black outfit and police cap. And Nodoff took another dosage of the pain medication Dr. Bellum prescribed him. Maybe _that_ was what made him feel so tired. He had come to the realization that he hated taking pills! But the pain in his foot was a lot less worse since he had taken the pills, which was a sign to him that it was working.

Upon arriving at the park, Yutopia darted forward at the sight of many wildflowers that bloomed there. Since Nodoff was on crutches, he was a bit slow at catching up, but seeing Yutopia get excited by flowers gave him a short burst of energy to hobble faster. A blush appeared on the ghoul's face, he thought Yutopia looked too cute right now. Not to mention that the many different bright colors of wildflowers was quite captivating compared to the gray-blue bleakness of Dream World. It was as if Yutopia's fascination matched his.

"It's _beautiful_!" Yutopia cried in delight. "There's every color imaginable!"

"Yes, it is lovely," Nodoff agreed. He never thought that _he_ , the master of creating nightmares, would ever say something like that.

"I just wish our Dream World would look more like this," Yutopia replied, suddenly heaving a depressed sigh that quickly changed her previously cheerful attitude. "My mother used to tell me that Dream World looked like this once ... before the _current_ ruler of Dream World rose to power. Now it's an eerie graveyard."

What Yutopia had just said took Nodoff by surprise. Wasn't Dream World _always_ an eerie graveyard?! That was the Dream World that _he_ was familiar with. "What do you mean?" the ghoul monarch asked.

Yutopia noticed the confused look on the ghoul's face. "A long time ago, Dream World was a place similar to St. Canard in that it was filled with inhabitants of different species living in houses. The only main difference between the two is St. Canard is dominated by technology and the advancement of it, while Dream World was a place away from technology and filled with magic."

Nodoff was still confused. That didn't sound like a Dream World any different than _he_ always knew, except the part about it being filled by inhabitants. Nevertheless, Yutopia continued with her narrative.

"Well, there were four monarchs of the past that always kept the powers of Dream World in balance. Their names were Dorma, Daze, Dawn, and Alarmos. Dorma, the eldest of the four, made sure that the inhabitants of Dream World were asleep by a certain hour to prevent chaos. Daze was in charge of catching dreamers who have allowd their dreams to lead them astray, in case Dorma had overlooked something. Dawn saw to it that those who woke from sleep were awake with a positive attitude before starting their day. And Alarmos, the youngest and most important of them all, was in charge of warning all inhabitants of Dream World when our World was in peril."

The ghoul pondered over the four names ... Dorma, Daze, Dawn, and Alarmos. The one that stood out the most was _Alarmos_ because he would overhear his father mention the name a lot whenever he gloated over his son's victories, claiming that Nodoff was Alarmos reincarnated, most likely as a joke. But while Nodoff tried so hard to please his father, he would often ask himself, _Who the HELL is Alarmos?! "_ Tell me more about Alarmos," Nodoff requested.

Yutopia gave Nodoff a curious stare. Why was the ruler of Dream World so particularly interested in Alarmos over the other three monarchs? The female ghoul decided to entertain Nodoff a little. "Alarmos had the most difficult job out of all four monarchs. Do you know _why_ that is?"

" _Why_?"

"Because Alarmos dealt with _nightmares_."

Nodoff suddenly felt something dark inside the pit of his stomach. He couldn't understand why, but a nauseous feeling overwhelmed him. Despite this, Yutopia continued.

"Alarmos used nightmares on sleeping servants as a way to warn them if they had some _unfinished business_ that could ruin them if they don't attend to it. He would also use nightmares to keep inhabitants in line if any of them were to cause trouble in Dream World."

"But ... I don't understand," Nodoff told her, becoming more puzzled by the story than ever before. "You said that Dream World used to look like this place before the _current_ _ruler of Dream World rose to power_. What do Alarmos or any of the other monarchs have to do with the _current_ ruler?"

Yutopia's yellow eyes narrowed ... and they looked displeased. "You don't like it when others tell you facts, do you ... Mr. _Ruler of Dream World_?"

Nodoff backed away from Yutopia as if her words threw daggers at him, and his face went pale. The female ghoul approached him, her yellow eyes looked straight into his orange eyes. The poor monarch of Dream World found himself cornered against a bench. A nervous giggle escaped his throat. "Eheheheh, so you _knew_ all along?"

Yutopia crossed her arms. "I'm no fool, Nodoff. Your mischief-making is _all_ others ever talk about. Did you think I couldn't see through your ruse?"

" _Ruse_?! _What_ ruse?"

Yutopia gave him a curious smile. "When you and I talked back at the manor about the ruler of _Dream World_ , you addressed yourself in _third person_. And you laughed whenever I spoke unfavorably of you. How is that _not_ a ruse?"

Nodoff gulped nervously as he pulled on the collar of his shirt with his finger to breathe. Beads of sweat trickled down his face as his body trembled. "I-I-if y-y-you're s-s-s-still m-m-m-mad at m-me about s-scaring you and your Mother-"

" _Breathe_ , Nodoff," Yutopia commanded, motioning to the ghoul with a gesture of her hand. Oddly enough, Nodoff found himself submitting to her order. Boy, for a monarch who didn't like being bossed around, he realized that he had been submissive as a boy servant whenever someone _told_ him what to do. When she saw that his breathing returned to normal, Yutopia rubbed Nodoff's right shoulder in an affectionate manner.

"I'm not in the habit of harming someone who is helpless to defend himself," Yutopia assured him, her tone softened. "So you really have nothing to worry about. I know you can't use your powers here."

Nodoff's ears slightly dropped. "Then ... you're not mad at me for what I did to you and your Mother a long time ago?"

"Nodoff, if you think I've come here as your _executioner_ , you're _wrong_ ," Yutopia assured the ghoul. "I've come here to help you get home." Shortly after she had said so, Yutopia lowered her head. A hint of shame appeared on her face which caused Nodoff some concern. Yutopia did her best to look him in the eyes. " _And_ there's something else ... Dream World has been in chaos ever since you've disappeared."

Nodoff tilted his head curiously. " _What_ has happened to Dream World?"

"It has become a fiery inferno of demons," Yutopia answered. "I've been trying to hold them back, but my powers aren't strong enough. That's why I-"

"Hey, why are two kids dressed up weird when it's not Halloween yet?!"

The two ghouls' conversation was interrupted by a couple passerbys who spotted them within the fenced park. Nodoff was the first to turn around to see who it was. He recognized the face of one of them. It was the same one that intimidated Nodoff when he went to the grocery store with Darkwing. And that guy was no more than three feet away from him. The ghoul's orange eyes narrowed and his large ears lowered in aggression. What did that idiot _want_?!

"Hey, I've seen you before!" the passerby pointed at Nodoff. "And you're on crutches now. Is that part of the get-up?"

Now that was a very stupid question! _Were the crutches part of the get-up_?! This guy was beginning to get on Nodoff's nerves. The ghoul tried to suppress his anger and turned his head away, though the trembling in his body betrayed him.

"Didn't anyone tell you that it's rude not to answer the question?" the passerby said with great displeasure. Nodoff still averted the guy's eyes. Didn't anyone ever tell the guy that it was _rude_ to _interrupt a conversation_ or _enter_ a domain _uninvited_?! The ghoul made an effort to breathe deeply to calm his nerves ... until he felt something grab him by the collar. The rude passerby, who was obviously disgruntled at Nodoff for not engaging him, was about ready to clobber the small ghoul. Luckily for Nodoff, he still had one of his crutches in his hands, which he managed to strike the man the face with. After Nodoff fell to the ground on his bum, he quickly gathered both crutches and rose himself to a standing position, ready to fend for himself if necessary.

After the rude man regained his bearings, he engaged the ghoul and was ready to charge at him. Nodoff held tightly to his crutches and was prepared to fight back. But before Nodoff could strike, something rather odd had befallen the passerby. The ghoul noticed the man's eyes looked dazed, as if he were drugged. Then Nodoff noticed something else ... He saw an array of magical gold dust emitting from Yutopia's fingertips. The female ghoul's yellow eyes were focused not only on the passerby who wanted to hurt Nodoff, but the other passerby as well.

"Don't either one of you have any thing better to do?!" Yutopia spoke in an authoritative manner. The two passerbys both shook their heads blankly. "Then find other means of sport somewhere else!" The two guys nodded, turned the other way, and left the park still in their blank states.

Nodoff fixed his orange eyes on Yutopia. "Did _you_ just use magic?!" Yutopia swept both her arms, as if to wipe the dust off her before she looked back at Nodoff and nodded. This began to intimidate him. "Hey, that makes no sense! How come _you_ can use your magic outside Dream World and not I?! _I'm_ the ruler!"

Yutopia giggled. " _Exactly_! Because as ruler, you _have it all._ Why would you need anything extra?" Nodoff gave her a puzzled look. "You see, Nodoff, this is how it works. As ruler of Dream World, you are entitled to the protection of the perimeters of Dream World. You are untouchable and all-powerful while in your domain, but once you step outside those perimeters, you lose that protection. As for someone like me, my only means of protection in life was my mother. But after she was stolen and gone from my life, I was prone to the beasts of nightmares. How I harness _my_ magical powers is by other means. I have to really concentrate hard and take my time, otherwise the spells are too weak."

A flustered sigh escaped Nodoff's throat. He could not _believe_ it! _He_ was supposed to be the omnipotent one in the magic department! Why wasn't he allowed to use powers outside Dream World?! It just wasn't fair! But the ghoul's frustration was short-lived when he felt Yutopia's hand rub his shoulders. "Oh, and don't worry. I'm not going to use any of my spells to harm you. I don't have the power to conjure up nightmares like you do. So, you're safe." Nodoff was silent. He didn't know what to say to that. Yutopia turned her head sideways to check for other passerbys. She wanted to make sure there were no more interruptions between them. "Ok, we have two options. We can stay out here for a while to talk more about Alarmos and the monarchs of the past, since you wanted some fresh air. Or, we can take our conversation back to MacCawber Manor so we won't be bothered anymore. Which will it be?"

Nodoff pondered over it. Technically, going back to the manor was a much safer bet since that last passerby tried to clobber him for no reason. It practically made Nodoff crawl out of his own skin, he thought he was going to have a nervous breakdown. But having Yutopia close by him made him forget his fear of the citizens here in St. Canard. If she had arrived sooner before he had injured himself, it would've made his stay a hell of a lot easier. But what was in the past was in the past, there was nothing Nodoff could do about it. And ironically, he had become accustomed to these trials and tribulations he had to endure. It seemed like the better choice was to tough it out and stay outdoors. After all, the sun outside and the breeze made the ghoul monarch feel more alive and alert after being cooped up in the manor. "I would like us to stay out here a little longer," Nodoff finally answered. "It's too nice outdoors."

A beaming smiled graced Yutopia's face and her yellow eyes widened with glee, as if she were saying _I'm so proud of you, Nodoff!_ "A wise decision, Mr. Ruler of Dream World," she replied. "How about we help ourselves to one of our snacks that we brought? You look as if you need one right now."

A blush appeared on Nodoff's face. He still wasn't used to others inquiring about his well being. Most folks only came to him whenever they _wanted_ something, like the Sleep Sand that Morgana used to request or whenever he was asked to plague someone with nightmares for whatever reason. Then again, Nodoff _did_ enslave everyone around him as Morgana had pointed out. He had even enslaved a creature like Yutopia and her mother ... and somehow she chose not to take vengeance on him, quite the opposite of what Nodoff would've done if someone even so much as lay a finger on him. "Yes, I will have one," Nodoff replied. "And I want to hear more about Alarmos and the others. Would you tell me more?"

Yutopia nodded, and preceded to tell Nodoff more about Alarmos and the history of Dream World.


	13. Sometimes, the Best Medicine is Laughter

**Chapter 13:** ** _Sometimes, the Best Medicine is Laughter_**

Alarmos was very kind-hearted, but he was greatly misunderstood," Yutopia continued. "Because he had the power to conjure up nightmares, it attracted way too much undesired attention. Some folks got too curious and asked Alarmos if he could teach them his magic so they could have fun scaring some of their friends. Alarmos would not have it. He was very adamant about having his nightmare powers to be used only to warn people of danger or to keep citizens in-line if they were to ever cause harm to one another. For the most part, Alarmos did not share this knowledge, except to the other three monarchs. But some went as far as to eavesdrop. So Alarmos reserved the knowledge to himself, refusing to share what else he learned with anyone, including his siblings. He wouldn't even write it down for fear that someone would find the manuscripts and use his spells for the wrong reasons. But bottling up all that information began to corrupt him and made him very ill. The other monarchs worried for their little brother's safety, _he_ insisted that _everything was just fine_."

As Nodoff listened to Yutopia's telling of the tale of Alarmos, he couldn't help but think that Alarmos's methods sounded too familiar. The only time he ever heard the name Alarmos was when his own father would compare _him_ to the monarch. But of course, his father was only saying it in jest ... wasn't he?

"Clearly, things were _not_ fine. All that power plus the grief and heartache he felt because he couldn't share ... it all was _killing_ Alarmos."

Nodoff slightly frowned. It all sounded like he and this Alarmos had a lot in common. Yutopia told Nodoff that Alarmos was eventually driven to madness and placed a curse on all of Dream World, turning it into the barren wasteland that Nodoff was too familiar with. Very few citizens survived, and those who did wound up as slaves, prone to any terror that would sweep the land. When Nodoff asked her what had happened to the other three monarchs, Yutopia told him that they disappeared, saddened that they couldn't save their little brother. The story had put Nodoff in a depressed mood as it reminded him too much of his current status here in the Real World. All that power and Alarmos couldn't use it, or share it?! What kind of life was _that_?! Yutopia took notice of the sad expression on Nodoff's face and patted his arm to get his attention. "What's on your mind?"

Nodoff blushed slightly as his orange eyes fell on Yutopia's pink hand resting on his arm. The ghoul monarch knew what was on his mind, but he struggled in the back of his mind to verbalize his thoughts in a manner that wouldn't come across as condescending to Yutopia. After all, Yutopia was more quick-witted than he had given her credit for, especially if she knew the whole time that _he_ was the ruler of Dream World. Once again, Yutopia patted his arm for reassurance.

"If it's too hard for you, you don't have to say anything at this time," she spoke in a soft voice. "Besides, Morgana has been telling me that you've been very depressed and homesick." At this point, Nodoff's eyes began to water and modest drops of tears trickled down his face. Yutopia gazed at the ruler of Dream World right now. The same creature that once terrorized her and her mother did not look so intimidating now. Then again, although she once did fear him, she always possessed some hidden curiosity and wanted to know the ghoul monarch a little better. Of course, whenever Yutopia asked about him, her mother clearly disapproved of letting her go _near_ him. But somehow, a part of her believed that maybe ... just _maybe_ the reason Nodoff did these crazy things was because he was just lonely. And witnessing Nodoff's silence and tears had confirmed her belief and enticed her curiosity to know him a lot better. She wrapped her pink arms around Nodoff to hug him for comfort; Nodoff responded likewise. "Maybe we should go back to the manor? Looks like we both had our fill of fresh air for the day."

Nodoff responded with a nod of his head as he wiped his tears away with the back of his arm. He allowed Yutopia to lead the way before he grabbed both crutches and hobbled behind her. The ghoul's mind was in a fog as dim as his Dream World was ... until the scent of spilt chemicals slapped Nodoff in the face, grappling him with fear. Something didn't feel right. The ghoul picked up the speed to find where the scent was coming from. It wasn't long before his eyes caught the source of the problem. Some crazy, dark haired lady in a cleaning suit had just mopped the sidewalk with bleach and the overwhelming stench of the chemicals began to give the ghoul a migraine. Could that be ...? Yes, it had to be _her_ , Agent Ammonia Pine that Darkwing and Launchpad talked about. Nodoff quickly covered half his face in his shirt and peeked at Ammonia, then he saw something that made fear rise from the pit of his stomach. Yutopia's pink face began to turn blue ... and she coughed r _eally hard_.

"Yutopia!" Nodoff cried out as he sprung into action, racing in Yutopia's direction as fast as his crutches could carry him and grabbed her by the side to veer her away from the scent of bleach. He covered her mouth with his hand, asking her if she was okay. But Nodoff's cry caught Ammonia's attention and pretty soon the crazy cleaning lady began to pursue both ghouls for fear that they would tell the police what they saw. Since she saw that Nodoff was the slowest of the two because of his crutches, she grabbed him by the collar and turned him around to face her.

"What is a kid like you doing out on the streets?!" Ammonia demanded

" _That's_ none of your business," Nodoff stated in a blunt manner. He detested being referred to as a _kid_ , he detested being _treated_ like one, _and_ he detested loud-mouthed women who _faked_ being maternal even more! And Ammonia was ranking top on that list as of now! She gave Nodoff a cock-eyed glare in response to his rudeness. "Didn't anyone ever tell you not to speak to your elders like that, _kid_?!" Ammonia replied.

"I _warn_ you, woman," Nodoff rebuttaled, the tone of his voice turned cold. "Do _not_ test me! If you dare to _test_ me, I will plague you with a thousand nightmares until your dying day!"

As anticipated, Ammonia did not take his warning seriously. She cocked her head back and laughed. " _You_?!" she spat out vehemently. "What could _you_ possibly do to me?!"

No sooner had the mad cleaning lady spoken than an infernal rage began to build up inside Nodoff, before his face turned dark and his orange eyes glowed. The morning skies turned dark. Both Ammonia and Yutopia gazed in awe as Nodoff's body began to change in shape and size before their very eyes. In place of a green-skinned ghoul with blue hair stood a giant, white dragon with great wings. Ammonia cowered before the dragon, who happened upon a garbage pail not too far from his hand only to pick it up and dump its contents all over Ammonia. The mad cleaning lady screamed madly as the smell of garbage was on her. The white dragon grabbed Ammonia by the collar and lifted her high above the ground until their eyes met. In a deep, thundering voice, the white dragon began to speak.

" _Leave_ this place and _take_ your cleaning supplies with you! If you do not heed my warning, all the fury of Dream World _and_ St. Canard will be upon you! Will you promise this?!"

Ammonia's whole body quaked from head to foot. What else could she do but nod her head and obey the beast. "Y-y-yes sir!" she stammered.

The dragon dropped Ammonia Pine to the ground, allowing her to scurry away as fast as she could, screaming. The dragon lifted his eyes skyward before he spoke one last time. " _Alarmos_ has spoken!"

As if a camera had flashed before one's eyes, the dark skies were light again ... and in the white dragon's place lay Nodoff on the sidewalk. Yutopia rushed to the ghoul's side, he was unharmed but appeared extremely exhausted. Yutopia helped the ghoul monarch to his non-injured foot and crutches. Nodoff's dazed expression made him look as if he were drugged by his own Sleep Sand. "Wha-what happened?" the ghoul replied giddily.

"I think we should go back to the manor at once!" Yutopia urged.

* * *

Back at MacCawber Manor, Yutopia reported what happened to Morgana. Although Morgana was surprised at the fact that Nodoff was able to conjure up magic outside of Dream World, she wasn't surprised by the fact that, while in his dragon state, Nodoff addressed himself as _Alarmos_. Morgana was never an inhabitant of Dream World, but that didn't mean that she didn't know a bit of history about it. Her father used to tell her stories. Most who were familiar with the history of the four monarchs in Dream World had told her of how the youngest king, Alarmos, was corrupt and placed a curse on Dream World that had changed everything for the worst. But Morgana was always under the impression that Alarmos was a _corrupt king to begin with_ , she had no idea that Alarmos had a kind-hearted side until Yutopia filled in _her_ side of the story. Because of the mishap that happened in Dream World, what was left of the history of the four monarchs was in fragments. Her father was bold enough to gather those fragments, but most them were written by the elder three monarchs. Only Yutopia had gathered the remaining fragments that were written by Alarmos himself. But there was something else that Yutopia had always betted highly on since she was little. And when she and Nodoff ran into Ammonia Pine that day, her suspicions were confirmed. Nodoff was the _descendant_ of King Alarmos.

"It was _why_ I have been searching for the ruler of Dream World _in person_ ," Yutopia told Morgana. "Of course, my mother would've preferred that I didn't go near him, but she always talked about the kind-hearted nature of Alarmos himself. She used to say (almost to herself) if only King Alarmos were still around, he would've brought an end to Nodoff's tyranny and there would be order in Dream World once again. She never realized that Alarmos's spirit _lives inside Nodoff_."

"Does _Nodoff_ know this?" Morgana asked.

Yutopia shook her head. "Nodoff said his own father compared him to Alarmos, but he thinks it was all some jest. But it all makes sense as to why his father pushed him too hard. He was afraid that if he did not push Nodoff hard enough, then he would meet the same fate as Alarmos."

"That still doesn't explain _why_ his father would abandon him," Morgana pointed out. "Sometimes my father would push me hard too. And he would leave me alone sometimes to as a means to test me, but he _never_ would've left me for dead."

"Both Nodoff and his father posess Alarmos's powers," Yutopia continued. "But his father embraced Alarmos's corrupt side, among many others of Alarmos's creations since his powers corrupted him. Nodoff however, was the _only_ one of the bloodline that bore Alarmos's _reluctant_ side, always questioning things in defiance, always wanting more in life than what was given to him."

Morgana heaved a sigh of relief. So there _was_ hope for Nodoff after all. She had worried that Nodoff was completely incapable of changing his ways, even if he really wanted to. But learning of this news meant that Nodoff didn't have to change anything. There was a way he could be his old, energetic, and terrible self without causing harm to others. "And you know how to bring out the good in Nodoff's _reluctant_ side?"

As Yutopia nodded in response to Morgana's last remark, she kept one of her hands behind her back. She made two golden feathers appear in her palm. "It may be a little tricky, _but_ ... I think I can manage it. Just tell Nodoff to meet me in his attic room after dinner. Tell him I have a surprise waiting for him."

* * *

Later that evening, Yutopia had excused herself from the dinner table, insisting that she still had a headache from her little ordeal earlier with the spilt bleach and needed time to herself to nurse it. She asked Morgana if she could bring a pitcher of water and a drinking glass upstairs in case she got woozy, to which Morgana had allowed. Nodoff, who was getting worried, asked if he could go upstairs with Yutopia. Yutopia was stunned momentarily and insisted that she would be fine and that Nodoff should finish his dinner first. If her plan was to succeed, she needed to make sure the props were all set, or everything would be _ruined_.

It didn't take long for Nodoff to finish his dinner, but Morgana made sure that Nodoff had cleaned his plate rather than skip eating certain portions because of curiosity getting the better of him. Morgana told him that Yutopia is waiting for him upstairs in the attic room. Nodoff managed to carefully slide down the chair on his own, landing first on his non-injured foot before grabbing his crutches. As he hobbled his way forward, he stopped for a moment to turn his gaze back to Morgana.

"Is she ... _alright_?"

"I'm sure she's fine," Morgana assured him. "Don't keep her waiting though."

Nodoff finally made it upstairs to the attic bedroom. And his orange eyes popped out when he saw that Yutopia was dressed in a nurse costume. Another thing he noticed was the pitcher of water and drinking glass that she had asked Morgana about earlier. The pitcher was still full to the top, so it wasn't even _touched_.

"Are you ... _alright_ , Yutopia?" Nodoff replied, scratching his head.

The pink-skinned ghoul smiled back at him, her yellow eyes sparkled. "Never better," she replied.

Nodoff decided to change the subject. "Darkwing was thanking me earlier for helping him catch Ammonia Pine, but ... I don't remember _doing_ it. What _happened_?"

"You turned into a great, white dragon," Yutopia told him. "And you called yourself _Alarmos_."

Nodoff was silent ... before a nervous laugh escaped from his throat. "Now you're just _teasing_ me, Yutopia," he said matter-of-factly. "I can't even _use_ my powers outside of Dream World, _you know that_. Besides ... Alarmos is _dead_."

" _Not_ quite!" Yutopia corrected, causing Nodoff's orange eyes to pop out as if he got slapped in the face. "Alarmos used his last ounce of magic to create an army of creatures, which he often referred to as _his children_. He was greatly saddened by the outcome of his curse, but he couldn't help it. So he vowed that his spirit will arise in one of his descendants to undo the curse." Yutopia paused for a moment before approaching Nodoff with a pointed finger in his direction. "And brace yourself for for this, Nodoff. _You_ are Alarmos's descendant."

" _What_?!" Nodoff reacted. "What are you talking about?!"

"You bare the same abilities as Alarmos himself," Yutopia continued. "The ability to change shape, fly, create nightmares, test people beyond their limitations, and restricted to using your powers _only_ in Dream World ... unless someone else _provokes_ you. Why do you think I used my magic on those passerbys who harassed you earlier?"

Nodoff backed himself against the wall as he was trying to register this news in his head. Sure, Yutopia protected him earlier, but he thought it was because of his inability to use magic outside Dream World.

"Unfortunately, that stupid lady's bleach messed me up," said Yutopia, "so I couldn't do the same when Ammonia attacked you. That's when you turned into a dragon and attacked her. When you turned back to your old self, I had to get you back to the manor, or the St. Canardians would start _talking_."

Nodoff couldn't believe what he was hearing. All this time when his father compared him to Alarmos, he thought he was only joking. But because his father did it a lot, it often made the ghoul think that there was a possibility this claim bore _some_ truth to it. But _how_ did Yutopia know about this?

"Am I to meet the same fate as Alarmos?" Nodoff asked, frowning slightly.

Yutopia shook her head. "There is a way to undo the curse. But you have to do _exactly as I say_. When I ask you questions, you have to answer me _honestly_. And when you promise something, you have to _keep your word_. _Agreed_?"

 _Aren't I doing exactly as you say already_? Nodoff thought to himself. But he once confided in Morgana that he wanted to do better. He _had_ to, if not for anyone else, then for himself at least. Otherwise, he didn't know if he could live with himself. " _Agreed_ ," Nodoff replied with a sigh.

With a smile, Yutopia sat on the bed and swatted the mattress with her palm, implying that Nodoff should lie down. Why did she want him to lie down, Nodoff wondered? He wasn't tired yet, and he still had three hours left before his bedtime. But Nodoff wasted no time in acknowledging Yutopia's non-verbal request since she did tell him that he had to do exactly as she said. He placed his crutches against the back wall and lay on the bed. "Are you comfortable?"

Nodoff nodded.

"Good," Yutopia replied, before she snapped her fingers. Suddenly, Nodoff found himself tied up in a straight-jacket, much to his surprise. What was going on?! And that wasn't all. He watched Yutopia walk over to where his injured foot was as she was fussing with the gauze it was wrapped in. She undid the bandages to reveal his foot ... which still had that bruise from when he injured himself, but it looked a lot less ugly than it did before. Why was she curious in looking at his injured foot? Then he witnessed her gently stroke the bottom of his sole, which felt weird. Her touch felt cool, while his foot was warm.

"Morgana said that Dr. Bellum was going to come by tomorrow to check up on you, right?" Yutopia asked.

"Yes," Nodoff replied. Then he noticed a mischievous smile appear on Yutopia's face as she pulled out two golden feathers from her pocket. Now he _knew_ that Yutopia was up to something. _What_ was she planning to use those feathers for?

 _His foot is very soft_ , Yutopia thought, gazing with euphoria at Nodoff's injured foot. _No wonder he injured it so easily. BUT ... it's just PERFECT for what I need to do!_

"Eheheheh, Yutopia?" Nodoff began to giggle nervously. "May I ask a question?"

"Go ahead," Yutopia obliged.

" _What are you doing_?!" Nodoff reacted.

"Remember when I told you that Dorma was in charge of making sure Dream World's inhabitants were in bed at a certain hour? Well, if any of those people had trouble sleeping, she would administer a remedy that would help them to sleep better. Morgana has told me that you've been suffering from nightmares since you came here, and both her and I have seen you looking so sad. _So_ ..." Yutopia lifted both gold feathers and began to apply the tips of each one underneath Nodoff's toes, "... _this_ should cheer you up."

Nodoff nervously bit his lower lip as he felt the tips of the feathers slowly teasing his toes. It was as if Morgana's damn spider, Archie, was crawling on them. And the tingling sensation wasn't stopping. He could feel another nervous giggle escaping his throat. "Yutopiahahahaha, whahahat are you dohohohoing?!"

"Why are you fighting it, Mr. Ruler of Dream World?" Yutopia smiled as she witnessed Nodoff making weird faces as he was trying to suppress his laughter. "Just let it out."

As the feathers slithered between each digit, Nodoff started to lose control of himself. "Hahahahaha! Thahahahahahat tihihihihihickles!"

"That's the point, Nodoff," Yutopia replied as she continued to slither the feathers in-between and underneath his toes, which appeared to be _horribly_ ticklish, judging by Nodoff's crazy-looking expressions right now (which she thought made him look adorable). Nodoff struggled to free himself, but the straight jacket was bound too tightly. Then he felt the feathers' tips slither down underneath his soft sole, which began to tickle worse. "Hahahahahaha! Thahahahat tihihihihihickles sohohoho bahahahahahad!" Nodoff cried, unable to withdraw his foot away from the tickling feathers. After all, it was elevated by a sling, if he moved it, he woul've banged it. And Yutopia moved each feather in circular motions, one of which brushed against the bruised portion of his foot. She hadn't told Nodoff this yet, but she had the ability to use healing magic, which was much more advanced than Morgana's. Nodoff didn't really need to take any medicine for his injured foot, he just needed good old Dream World magic. The golden feathers had a touch of her healing magic, which produced a glow and began to bring down what was left of the swelling. But Yutopia dumbed her magic down because she enjoyed hearing Nodoff's laughter too much. She told Nodoff that he had a good laugh. Then she stopped using the feathers, put them temporarily back in her pocket, then resorted to tickling Nodoff's foot with her fingers.

"HAHAHAHAHA! YOU'RE DRIHIHIHIVING ME CRAHAHAHAHAZY!"

"Wow Nodoff, you really are _that_ ticklish?" Yutopia giggled. "I just barely started." And it was true! Yutopia wore a watch on her hand, timing the session. It had been only five minutes since she started. Not to mention, Yutopia made sure that she was quite gentle with the ghoul since this was his injured foot. But because Nodoff's foot was very soft, it didn't take much to get him going. And he wasn't used to it. The poor ghoul's face began to turn red and tears flowed down his face from all the laughing, which was a sign to Yutopia that she had to stop and let Nodoff breath. So she stopped. "Breathe, Nodoff," she commanded in a gentle voice.

As Nodoff panted for breath, Yutopia quickly poured water from the pitcher into the drinking glass and held the glass to Nodoff's lips.

"Drink this. You need it right now."

Nodoff drank the water slowly. The cool liquid quenched the ghoul's thirst. Yutopia also dabbed her hand into the water pitcher and smoothed some water on Nodoff's forehead and neck, since he was beginning to sweat a lot. Then she stroked Nodoff's shoulder affectionately. "How do you feel?"

" _Embarrassed_ ," Nodoff replied with a very sheepish grin.

" _Embarrassed_?! _Why_?"

"Because it tickles so bad," Nodoff replied. "And ... I'm all tied up."

Yutopia rolled her yellow eyes. "Well, I was afraid you would try to _stop_ me if I didn't have you tied up. I know how much you dislike taking orders."

Nodoff rolled his orange eyes in return. "Touché," he replied, heaving a sigh.

"Alright," Yutopia sighed. "I will take the jacket off. But you have to _hold still_ while I do my thing. If you try to stop me in any way, the jacket goes back on. _Promise_?"

Nodoff awkwardly nodded his head, though he wasn't so sure if he liked any of this. Once Yutopia snapped her fingers, the straight jacket disappeared and Nodoff could move his arms again.

"And now for the _other_ one," Yutopia replied as she assumed her original position. A crooked grin graced Nodoff's face as he saw her withdraw the feathers once again. How much of this could he _really_ take? As with his injured foot, Yutopia repeated the same process with his non-injured foot, which didn't take long to drive him to laughter again. Nodoff braced himself as Yutopia's golden feathers teased his other foot. At least his skin could breathe easier without that jacket, but the tickling itself was more than Nodoff could take. And when Yutopia began to use her fingers to tickle his whole foot, it drove Nodoff mad and he roared with laughter.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! MERCY! _MERCY_!" He pounded his fists on the mattress since it was so hard for him to hold still while Yutopia mercilessly tickled his sensitive foot. Then the female ghoul began to tickle both feet at the same time, and poor Nodoff _lost it_! How could this be?! The omnipotent ruler of Dream World who was unfazed by anything was now reduced to _this_?! If his subjects in Dream World were to find out just how ticklish he really was, poor Nodoff would be at the mercy of others tickling him to madness. How could he ever have peace?!

"Keep it up, Nodoff!" Yutopia cheered. "You're doing a good job!"

Nodoff covered his face with the pillow in embarrassment, he didn't know how to stop laughing! This crazy girl had defeated him! She bested him in her ability to use magic outside of Dream World, she was quick to catch onto his lies (which were not much since he kept quiet anyway), and now she had him laughing so hard that he was so close to passing out. And it was around that time that Yutopia finally stopped altogether. She encouraged Nodoff to catch his breath before pouring him another glass of water. Nodoff did as he was told and his breathing returned to normal again. Yutopia rubbed his shoulder with one hand while stroking the sides of his face with the other. "How do you feel?"

"Wiped out," Nodoff uttered in a small voice.

Yutopia smiled as she patted Nodoff's shoulder, before making her way back to her original position in front of the ghoul's injured foot. "By the way, your foot is recovering quite fast," she told him as she slowly re-bandaged his foot. "I'm sure Dr. Bellum will be quite pleased."

Nodoff barely heard her as he could feel his orange eyes get heavier and heavier. The ghoul was very tired, Yutopia could tell. And no wonder! All that pent up laughter that Nodoff had held inside him for so long had all come out. He had no energy left, not for tonight at least. Yutopia covered him with the blanket and smoothed his blue hair away from his eyes. She began to yawn, she had no idea the whole ordeal would wear _her_ out too. She quickly poured herself a glass of water to drink before crawling under the covers next to the sleeping ruler of Dream World. She wanted to be close by. In case Nodoff were to have another nightmare, she wanted to be there for him.

"Pleasant dreams, Nodoff," she whispered, planting a kiss on the ghoul's green cheek. "By the way, thank you for coming to my aide earlier. It was very considerate of you."

The next morning, Nodoff woke up with his shoulders feeling unusually light. In fact, his whole body felt light as if some heavy burden was lifted. What happened? The last thing he remembered was he was laughing about something, but he couldn't remember what the joke was. But when he spotted Yutopia, curled up right next to him, it all came back to him.

"Aha, so _you're_ the one who wore me out," Nodoff whispered. "Well, _just you wait_. I'll get my revenge." Nodoff didn't really want revenge. He had already decided that when he and Morgana talked. Fighting over petty things and seeking vengeance out on someone had only hurt _him_ and not anyone else (not even the person he sought vengeance against). He finally understood that now. It was strange how this Real World worked versus Dream World. As he took one good look at the sleeping pink-skinned ghoul, his orange gaze softened. _What would I do in this world without you?_

"Nodoff? Are you awake?"

Nodoff heard Morgana's voice from the other side of the attic door. He grabbed his crutches, limped himself to the door, and opened it. Morgana had entered the room and was follow by Dr. Sara Bellum. Nodoff hobbled back to his bed, he assumed that the doctor wanted him in a sitting position to check up on him.

"Well, let's see what the damage is today," Dr. Bellum sighed lightheartedly. A breathy giggle escaped Nodoff's throat. He knew there was no _real_ damage. That was just a saying that people used to assume the worst so that their high hopes wouldn't be dashed to harshly. It was one of among the new kind of vernacular that Nodoff had learned while he was here in St. Canard. He watched carefully as Dr. Bellum removed the bandages and inspected his foot. Her dark eyes lit up.

"Wow, I'm impressed!" Dr. Bellum cried with glee. "Your bruise is completely gone! And there is no more swelling!"

Nodoff blinked in confusion. _Already_?! That sounded too good to be true. But then the ghoul noticed the same kind of response come from Morgana too. Curiously and slowly, Nodoff flexed his foot. To his surprise, it didn't hurt. Then he saw Dr. Bellum situate herself on a stool in front of his foot. He saw her withdraw a round-edged metal instrument and gently brush it against Nodoff's soft sole. The instrument felt cold and the ghoul stifled a baby giggle because the instrument began to tickle. Dr. Bellum heard the giggle and lifted her gaze to meet Nodoff's. She smiled. "That sound tells me that your foot is completely healed," she replied. "You won't need the crutches any more, Mr. Nodoff. You can walk on it now."

After hearing that news, Nodoff wasted no time in standing up and walking around to test Dr. Bellum's theory. It was true! Nodoff's injury was gone! He could barely contain his excitement.

"Just be careful not to fall down any more stairs," Dr. Bellum reminded him. Nodoff nodded obediently as he watched the doctor exchange a few words with Morgana before descending down the stairs. The only ones left in the room right now were Nodoff, Morgana, and Yutopia, who was now stirring from sleep from all the noise earlier.

"Yutopia, you woke up just in time to hear the good news," Morgana replied.

"Oh?" Yutopia replied sleepily. "What's that?!"

Nodoff was the one who chose to answer. "Yutopia, I can walk again!" he replied happily, unable to resist the urge to hug Yutopia. She could feel that the ghoul was trembling with happiness, what else could Yutopia do but hug Nodoff back in return.

"Breakfast is ready, whenever you two are hungry," Morgana told them. "Darkwing and Launchpad had already arrived. I will be downstairs, waiting."


	14. Farewell, Ruler of Dream World

**And here is the _final_ chapter. This one is relatively short compared to the rest. Thank you to everyone who had been very patient with me in following this story, and a special thanks goes out to bravekid for helping me with the ending. You're a life saver! :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 14: _Farewell, Ruler of Dream World!_**

At the diningroom table, Launchpad had already begun taking a bite of his waffles. Darkwing rolled his eyes, wondering why Launchpad couldn't just wait. It didn't take too long for Nodoff and Yutopia to arrive and join them. There were an array of pancakes, waffles, and overeasy eggs laid out on the table. Nodoff could hear his stomach growl, and the food looked so enticing. He allowed Yutopia to take her chair first, before he climbed up his ... which he was very careful to do so, even though his foot was better. Another thing Nodoff learned was that he had to be extra careful in this world, even if things looked alright. His plate was already set up for him, so Nodoff wasted no time in eating.

The topic of conversation became very interesting. Nodoff's ears perked when he heard Darkwing propose a job offer to Morgana which she couldn't refuse. The masked mallard was beginning to form a team of heroes called The Justice Ducks, and Morgana was to be a part of that team. The witch seemed eager and happy to accept the offer, it meant that she could start working again with an income. And that wasn't all. Darkwing shot a look in Nodoff's direction, which caught the ghoul off guard.

"Since you managed to stop Ammonia Pine from causing more trouble," Darkwing pointed out, "maybe _you_ could join our team."

Nodoff was surprised. _Him_ , be a member of Darkwing's _team_?! A blush appeared on Nodoff's face. He found it hard to believe that the same duck that he was enemies with during their battles in Dream World was now asking _Nodoff_ to be a part of _Darkwing's_ Justice Ducks team. "I'm ... honored," Nodoff replied, nearly choking up, "but ... I cannot accept."

Darkwing's eyebrows furrowed slightly. But then Yutopia decided to jump in on the conversation. "I think what Nodoff means is that he appreciates your offer, Mr. Darkwing, but Dream World needs him right now."

"Their world is in peril, Dark," Morgana added. "Yutopia and I spoke. She came here to bring Nodoff back."

"As a matter of fact," said Yutopia, "we'll be leaving for there tonight."

One would've thought that Nodoff would be jumping for joy at the sound of that news. But a sad expression appeared on Nodoff's face. Everyone was quick to notice.

"Nodoff, are you alright?" Morgana asked.

"You look so gloomy," Launchpad added. "We thought you'd be _happy_."

The ghoul's orange eyes scanned each duck individually. For so long, he had been yearning to return home, to have his magical powers back again, and to roam around freely. But ... he had been confined within the boundaries of this Real World for over two months that he had became quite used to it. Not to mention that he didn't feel that he ever fully repaid any of these ducks for all the kindness they had shown him. And the offer that Darkwing had just made to him about joining The Justice Ducks team put him in a somewhat awkward position, especially when his Dream World was calling to him.

"I ... know I owe you, more than ... I can ever repay," Nodoff replied, finding his tongue again. But the ghoul found himself choking up again. "If we met ... under different circumstances ..." The ghoul's voice trailed off. Yutopia saw that poor Nodoff was struggling to deal with a whirlpool of emotions. She rubbed his shoulder and decided to finish for him.

"What Nodoff meant to say was that he thanks all of you from the bottom of his heart for taking care of him. If his duties to Dream World weren't so pressing right now, he would've gladly accepted Darkwing's offer without a doubt. He is happy to go home, but you've all become like family to him. He just had a hard time expressing it."

The three ducks exchanged looks before turning their gazes back to Nodoff. The ghoul's head was lowered and his hands rested on his heart, a sign of someone who wanted to serve for a greater good. They were all stunned to see Nodoff in this way, especially Morgana. In all the years she had known Nodoff, never even once had she thought she would ever see him this way.

"We leave at 6pm tonight," Yutopia told them. "Darkwing and Launchpad, you two can come by later to say goodbye."

* * *

Although it was a long and somber day for everyone, the hour before Nodoff and Yutopia would leave the Real World finally came. Both ghouls had already bathed, feeling quite refreshed. And they had already packed, though their load was unusually light since they never had planned for vacation away from Dream World to begin with. The ghouls were waiting in the attic room where Nodoff had slept since the portal was going to appear there. Darkwing and Launchpad followed Morgana upstairs. Out of the whole group, the one who was silent the most was Nodoff. Yutopia could sense that the poor ghoul was torn between worlds. While the two had packed, Nodoff confessed to her that he wasn't confident that he was prepared for the responsibilities to come. Too long had he been ruler to a barren world, or (so it seemed). Now, with Yutopia's help, his kingdom was to have subjects again. But they had to do something about those loose demons first. Would they even listen to Nodoff if he demanded it? Or would he have to summon the power of Alarmos to get his point across, like he did with Ammonia Pine?

"Well? Aren't you going to say goodbye, Nodoff?" Yutopia whispered, noticing that Nodoff was just standing there, saying nothing.

The ghoul snapped out of his stupor and approached both Darkwing and Launchpad first. Nodoff began to giggle nervously, he really didn't know what to say to either the masked mallard himself or his sidekick. Both ducks exchanged looks, before returning their gazes back to Nodoff. Darkwing was the first to break the silence. "You must be excited to finally get back home. What are your plans, Nodoff?"

Nodoff sighed. "Oh ... aside from bringing order back to Dream World, Yutopia and I don't have any particular plans. We're just going to take things one step at a time."

"That's always the best thing," Launchpad agreed.

Nodoff smiled at the pilot, before returning his orange gaze to Darkwing. "I know Yutopia spoke for me earlier, but ... what I meant to say was that if we had met under different circumstances, I wouldn't have allowed my jealousy to get in the way of yours and Morgana's happiness."

If Darkwing weren't the super-sleuth he prided himself to be, he would've been completely shocked by Nodoff's response. He _knew_ that the ghoul monarch was trying to hard to win Morgana's affections, often addressing her as his _lovely_ , _beautifulness,_ and _compassionate one._ Darkwing clearly remembered when Nodoff persuaded her to _join him_ so _he_ could _reward her with the riches of St. Canard._ But it wasn't until he saw the awkward expression on the ghoul's face that he realized that Nodoff's feelings for Morgana ran much deeper than it appeared. And Morgana had noticed it too, she appeared more surprised than Darkwing was.

"You both deserve all the happiness life has in store for you," Nodoff replied, almost in a whisper. "I only wish I could've given a gift that would benefit you both."

Both Darkwing and Morgana exchanged looks. Neither of them knew what to say to that, but both could tell by the ghoul's tone of voice that Nodoff was being sincere.

"No gift is necessary," Darkwing replied, "but we both appreciate your offer."

Both Darkwing and Launchpad shook both of Nodoff's hands to bid him farewell, then they did the same with Yutopia, telling her that even though her acquaintance was short, it had been a good one. The two male ducks descended down the stairs. Now all that remained in the room with the two ghouls was Morgana. Nodoff turned his head away temporarily to look at Yutopia, as if to ask for her advice. The pink-skinned ghoul said nothing but simply motioned to Nodoff with her hands to bid farewell to Morgana.

"I'm very impressed, Nodoff," Morgana told the ghoul monarch. "You've really come a long way."

Nodoff blushed in response. "It really means so much to me to hear you say that, Morgana. You've really taught me a lot."

Morgana shook her head. "No ... I merely asserted my boundaries, Nodoff. The rest you learned on your own."

"Well ... I did have a little help from Yutopia." Nodoff gazed in Yutopia's direction, the pink-skinned ghoul blushed in response. Then his gaze returned to Morgana's. Nodoff lowered his head, Morgana could detect a hint of sadness on his face, just the same as she saw earlier during breakfast. The witch asked the ghoul if something was bothering him, to which Nodoff responded, "I'm ... afraid that it may be a long time before we see each other again. I know you don't owe me anything, Morgana, but there is something I want. I'm ... afraid you might say _no_."

Morgana nodded her head to imply that Nodoff should say what was on his mind.

"Would you _keep_ this room here in the Real World for me, _please_? I know that I'll be busy in Dream World for some time, but ... I would like to visit here once in a while. I'll ... never ask for anything more ... I ... I _promise_ ..."

Noticing that tears began to trickle down Nodoff's face made Morgana realize that Nodoff had really become attached to this world, even when his experiences here were too hard for him. And Nodoff's valorous effort in protecting Yutopia from Ammonia Pine had earned him a new level of respect in Morgana's eyes. The witch knelt to Nodoff's level to tell him that she agreed to keeping his room here as is, before wrapping her arms around Nodoff, drawing him into a deep hug. Nodoff wrapped his arms around her in return. His tears splashed the floor so heavily that Morgana was tempted to offer him a tissue, to which the ghoul respectfully declined, joking that his bill was already too high from all the tissues she had given him. Nodoff knew he would miss Morgana more than he could express, which was why his tears fell heavily on the floor. But underneath all the pain he felt for leaving a friend, there was also a mixture of happiness which made him tremble within. For the first time in his life, Nodoff's spirit felt truly free. He didn't have to lie, cheat, steal, or scare people away. He just needed to _be a friend_ in order to make friends. And that knowledge alone kindled a fire within to melt his heart of ice. After a long hug in which the ghoul didn't want to let go, Yutopia reminded Nodoff that it was time to go. Nodoff turned his head momentarily and nodded to acknowledge Yutopia's request. Morgana patted the ghoul firmly but gently on the back before Nodoff reluctantly pushed himself away from the witch's embrace.

"Don't push yourself too hard, Nodoff," Morgana reminded the ghoul as she dried his tears with the back of her hand. "And _breathe_. You sound like you have asthma."

Nodoff giggled at Morgana's direct and blunt response. He never thought that such a rude response as that would make him laugh from within. But hey, it was _honest_! That was what he had always admired about Morgana. The witch was as honest as she was compassionate.

"Come on, Mr. Ruler of Dream World," Yutopia teased as she tugged on Nodoff's arm. "It's time."

Nodoff nodded as he rested his opposite hand on Yutopia's shoulder. The portal to Dream World appeared before their very eyes, waiting for the two ghouls to enter. Nodoff allowed Yutopia to lead him forward to the door. The ghoul monarch turned his orange gaze back at Morgana for a quick moment. "Until we meet again ... Morgana ..."

Within seconds of walking through the portal, the door closed shut behind them before it disappeared completely. Morgana knelt there silent, not moving a muscle. She had pondered deeply over all that just happened between her and Nodoff, as well as Darkwing Duck's offer to her to become part of The Justice Ducks. It wasn't just Nodoff that had learned something from this whole ordeal. Morgana too had learned something about herself. At one point in her life, she used to believe that _being bad was too rewarding_. She didn't understand point of being the _good girl_ that Darkwing wanted her to be when being bad was just too easy and seemed like the better deal. But Morgana finally understood now. Although being bad felt like easy route, it kept a person a prisoner to his/her own vices. Nodoff was too obvious an example of how bad could actually drive someone to eternal madness, having no peace in life. Morgana had put herself to the test when she had punished Nodoff for being bad. And Nodoff was trapped within his head, unable to take his anger out anyone without it backlashing on him. _No wonder_ he ended up injuring himself, then hiding the fact until Darkwing detected the injury. But when Morgana found the courage to reach out to Nodoff, even when her own instincts were telling her to strangle him, it was her moment of enlightenment. _Being good_ wasn't just something parents said to keep their kids quiet. Being good was the _only_ pathway to freedom from tyranny and imprisonment. The undoubtably grateful look on Nodoff's face was positive proof of that.

Morgana gazed at the empty bed where Nodoff once slept. She had become accustomed to him being there, waking him up to attend to chores, and checking up on him when he couldn't walk without the aide of crutches. And now he was gone.

" _Perhaps if we met under different circumstances_ ," Morgana whispered, as if she were talking to Nodoff, "I would've shown you all the wonders that St. Canard has to offer."

The witch fumbled with the musical wind-up toy she used to put Nodoff to sleep one night before turning away to descend the stairs. Darkwing and Launchpad pad haven't left the manor just yet, she could still hear them talking. Before closing the door to the attic, she peaked one last time where the portal once stood.

"At least you are not alone anymore. Now you can have pleasant dreams with someone by your side."

 **The End**


End file.
